A Charmed Life
by pottergrl15
Summary: Sharpay and Ryan are more different than anyone thought. Their lives are filled with secrets, ones which are about to be exposed to those they never considered friends.
1. Trailer

**Two of these things are not like the others **

_Clips of Gabriella and Troy talking flash through the screen _

_Followed by Taylor and Chad _

_And closing up on Sharpay and Ryan watching people_

**Their story is not like the others **

_Shows Sharpay and Ryan performing _

_Shows other students watching them _

**They are part of a legacy **

_Flashes of four women float across the screen, the Halliwell Sisters _

_Quickly flashing to two toddlers _

_Fades with two young men, Chris and Wyatt _

**Their family has their secrets **

_Shows a sky view of San Francisco, the Golden Gate bridge in the background_

_Flashes to an old, Victorian style Manor_

_Fades with an old book sitting in an attic_

**Secrets that are about to be discovered **

_Shows Troy and the gang looking shocked _

_Shows Sharpay and Ryan looking scared_

**They are different **

_Shows Sharpay and Ryan walking through the halls, the Red Sea effect taking place _

**But so is their family **

_Clips of the four women from before using different powers_

_Followed by the two babies using their own powers_

_Fading into the two men using theirs _

**When the family comes to visit… **

_Shows the two men from before appearing in a room _

**Something evil follows **

_Clips of various demons appear after the men _

**Things go wrong **

_Flashes to Sharpay staring into space _

_Fades with Ryan thinking _

**A family unites **

_Clips of Chris and Wyatt making a potion flash across the screen with another girl reading from the Book of Shadows, the children of Piper_

_Followed by another young man and twin girls, the children of Paige _

_Flashes of three young women follow, the daughters of Phoebe _

_Fading out with Sharpay and Ryan_

**What will happen?**

**_A Charmed Life_**

A/N - I was watching Charmed this morning and figured it would be about time to start a High School Musical crossover I was thinking about doing with Charmed. So here's the trailer :)


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

The click clack of high heels echoed down the crowded halls of East High. The owner of the heels was busily typing away at her sidekick as she flicked her blond hair over her shoulders. A boy nearly the same height as her, with hair as yellow as hers, walked beside her, gaze wandering along the tops of the walls where various posters and signs hung.

"Ohhh…Ice Twins are back from Iceland!" a voice shouted behind them.

Without missing a beat, Sharpay turned to face a bushy haired boy, the one who had thrown the sorry excuse for an insult. "Oh yeah," she said, glaring at the boy, "That's just so funny Chad…but uh…for the next time you try to insult us, you might want to get your geography right…Iceland is warm, Greenland is the cold one."

Chad let out a snort putting an arm around his girlfriend Taylor, and looking over at his friends on the East High Basketball team, before returning his gaze to the blondes. "Right…and that would be why it's called _Ice_land."

For some reason, he was the only one laughing. He looked around after a moment, his questioning gaze landing on Taylor. She must know why no one was laughing, she sighed, "She's right Chad. Iceland is warm and Greenland is cold."

He cocked his head to the side as he stared at her, "Then…why's it called Iceland?"

"No idea," she mumbled.

Sharpay rolled her eyes as Ryan laughed at Chad's expression, "Yeah," he said, "And anyway, we spend breaks in California with our cousins." He paused for a moment, "Except for this time…we spent it with out parents on a cruise for their 20th aniversery."

Chad's eyes widened slightly, "You have cousins?" They nodded, "What are their names?"

"Wyatt, Chris, Mel, Henry, Charlot, Bri, Penny, Patty, and Prue," Sharpay answered, listing off the nine people as though she were reading a list, no pause for thought or anything.

Chad's eyes narrowed slightly, "Say that again."

"What?" Sharpay asked, "You don't think we actually have cousins?"

"Oh, I don't doubt that you have cousins," he answered, "I just doubt that there are people out there that would actually _want_ to spend time with the two of you."

Sharpay's mouth dropped open as she turned to look at her brother, he merely shook his head and turned to Chad, "Wyatt, Chris, Mel, Henry, Charlot, Bri, Penny, Patty, and Prue." He repeated, Sharpay's exact order of their cousins.

And with that they turned and walked straight down the halls towards Homeroom with Ms. Darbus, everyone's favorite teacher…right…

IOI

After school would find everyone sitting around outside. Some were waiting for rides, others waiting for the second bus, and others just didn't want to head home yet. Those who didn't want to return home yet would be none other than Sharpay and Ryan Evans. It wasn't that their home life was bad or that they hated being around their house…it was just that they knew what would await them when they did return home. There were two possibilities, and they weren't sure which one was the worst outcome. Their parents were either making kissy faces at each other after their aniversery cruise, much like they had been doing the day before when they arrived back, or talking to their aunts in California about how things were going there. At this point it would seem like the second option was the worst.

Ryan let out a sigh as a frown graced the otherwise flawless face of his sister. He could hear snickering from beside them and looked down a ways to see Troy, Chad, Taylor, and Gabriella, along with the rest of the basketball team, sitting there on the stairs snickering at the two twins who sat down on the wall that boardered the front of the school. He turned to Sharpay, seeing her bit her lower lip, something she only did when she was about to cry.

He scooted closer to his sister, "What's wrong Shar?"

She looked up, glancing to see everyone staring at her, apparently Ryan had spoken a little more loudly than he probably should have…now everyone knew something was bothering her. She sighed, "It's just…I miss them Ry…We've _never_ missed a trip to see them. Never!"

Ryan quickly put an arm around his sister, knowing that it would help calm her down. It was perfectly normal for her to be upset about missing their trip to California. They were really close to their cousins, and, had it not been for their father Jake Evans job being based in Albaquerque, they were sure they would have gone to live in California with the rest of their family. It sucked, it really did to be so far from the only family and friends you had, it especially took its toll on Sharpay. It really wasn't good for her to get worked up like that…it wasn't good for either of them, but especially her. He felt her lean against him, a soft sniffle excaping her. He looked up, he could see Chad wiping his eyes in a mock up of Sharpay's pain. He could see the girls giving the boys exasperated looks and rolling their eyes. At least they knew that Sharpay really was upset.

He fixed his attention back to his sister, giving her a reassuring squeeze and rubbing her arm. He didn't even notice the gasp that escaped the two girls down the way or even when two shadows fell over them. He didn't look up until he heard someone speaking to them.

"Cheer up Shar!" a preppy male voice spoke.

"Tears don't suit you, you know," Another voice, more deep than the other added.

Sharpay's head shot up as she stared at the two men before launching herself at the taller of the two. "Wyatt!" she shouted, locking the much taller and more built man in a tight embrace. The man didn't even seem fazed when the girl latched herself onto him. He merely chuckled and hugged her back, his muscles rippling as he did so, clearly visible beneath his red sweater. His blue eyes shined with laughter, his light brown hair making them even more bright.

"Chris!" she shouted again as she threw herself at the second man. This one seemed a bit darker than the first, his dark brown slightly shaggy hair blended perfectly with his dark green eyes and dark blue shirt. She pulled away as Ryan made his way to give them each a guy hug.

She was grinning a million watt smile as Ryan joined her side staring at the two older men. "What are you doing here!?"

Wyatt smiled, "Well, you know us. We missed you guys."

Chris smiled as well, "Yeah, we've never not had you over the manor when you were on break, so we decided to come and visit our favorite Ablaquerque cousins."

Ryan laughed as Wyatt noogied his head, "We're your only Albaquerque cousins."

Sharpay opened her mouth to speak but shut it quickly as her eyes widened…a thought had struck her. "Ooh…Aunt Piper's going to kill you two!"

Wyatt merely laughed at that, "Kill us three you mean."

"Three?" Sharpay asked when suddenly Ryan turned around, his arms outstreched.

"Mel!" he shouted, catching a girl who had just jumped at him. He caught her in his arms and spun her around bridal style.

The girl, Mel, seemed to be about two years younger than Ryan and Sharpay, probably around 16 years old. She had a hair like the guy Wyatt, but eyes as green as Chris. Her hair was just a little shorter than Sharpay's, falling around her shoulders and held back by only two clips on either side of her head. She had a light green blouse on which, along with her dark green skirt, greatly brought out the green of her eyes. She giggled as Ryan slowed to a stop, she had been aiming for a piggy back ride, but this worked out just as well. She laughed, placing her arms around his neck as he stopped. She sighed, "I'll never get too big for this will I?" she asked.

Ryan laughed, shaking his head, "Nope, and if you do…I'll just have to work out more."

She laughed more as he set her down on the ground, "I don't think that's possible," she said, squeezing his biceps jokingly…well, it wasn't really a joke, his arms were as hard as a rock. He playfully smacked her hands away from his arm as she hit him back, soon it was a fun filled game of smack hands. She laughed, grabbing his hands in hes for a moment, before turning to Sharpay. "Hey Pay!" she said, reaching out and hugging the girl.

"Mel!" Sharpay shouted, pulling away, "How is everyone? How's Henry?"

"And Charlot," Ryan continued.

"And Bri…"

"And Penny …"

"…Patty…"

"…Prue?"

Mel laughed at the twins, they were just like Charlot and Bri with the finishing each other's sentences. "Why don't you ask them?"

She turned her gaze to something just over the twin's shoulder. They spun around to see six other people standing a few feet behind them. "Oh my god!" Sharpay shouted as she and Ryan went to greet their cousins.

From what the group on the stairs could see, there were three girls, one boy, and a pair of twin girls as well. The three girls were similar in appearance, each with long dark brown hair and brown eyes. The boy bore a striking resemblence to the girls as well, though with a slightly lighter shade of brown hair, but with the same dark brown eyes. The twins, well, they were identical unlike Sharpay and Ryan being fraternal. They both had strawberry blonde hair, the redish tints standing out more as Ryan and Sharpay made their way to them, their yellow blond hair contrasting the strawberry blondes. These twins were similar to Ryan and Sharpay in another aspect, they both had different eye colors. While Ryan and Sharpay had blue eyes and brown respectively, these twins had brown eyes and hazel.

After a few moments of excited chatter Sharpay calmed down a little, and Ryan turned to Wyatt, "Hey…Wy…um…is…did she…"

Wyatt laughed, "Spit it out Ry."

"Did she come with you?" he asked, looking hopeful.

"Why don't you ask her?" a voice said from behind him. The group by the stairs did a double take, where had that girl come from, she wasn't there a minute ago. A girl with long black hair and pink tips stood just behind Ryan, clad in a pair of torn jeans, a black top, and black flipflops.

Ryan spared no time in pulling her towards him and into a hug, that was pretty normal to the group, but what really shocked them was when Ryan dipped her to the side and planted a kiss similar to the one Tom Cruise and Katie were famous for.

The group on the stairs could do nothing but stare at the couple before them. Never in their lives had they ever thought they'd see Ryan with a girl…there had been a rumor that he swung on a different branch than the rest of them…nor had they thought that they would ever see him with a girl like that. She seemed well…different…than what they expected Ryan to look for in a girl…different than what they expected Sharpay to find acceptable in a girlfriend for her brother.

"My, my, my," Sharpay said crossing her arms at the girl as soon as her brother had let her go for air, "If it isn't Missy Sparks."

Missy crossed her arms at Sharpay as well, "If it isn't Miss Sharpay Evans," she faked a sigh, "Can't even give her best friend a hug I see."

Sharpay's face broke out in a grin as she and Missy hugged. Now that was shoking to the group on the stairs. Sharpay hugged someone? They were friends? Not only that, they were supposedly _best_ friends? When did this happen?

"Well, look at you Paypay," Missy said pulling away, but still holding Sharpay at arms length, "What kind of a get up are you in? I don't think I've ever seen you in anything more than a pair of jeans and a sweater?" She looked her up and down, taking in the flashy outfit that Sharpay was dressed in. A bright light blue sequin halter and uncomfortably tight skirt along with dark blue heels seemed foreign on her friend.

Sharpay actually blushed at that statement and waved her hand dismissively, pushing the girl back towards her brother. She laughed slightly at her friend when she felt someone step up beside her. She looked up to see the face of her oldest cousin Wyatt staring down at her, a concerned look on his face.

"Are your friends alright Sharpay?" he asked.

She gave him a questioning look, "My friends?" she shook her head as if not understanding who he was talking about. All her friends were currently gathered around her. He nodded towards the stairs where she saw the group of her peers staring at her with mouths agape and eyes wide, obviously in shock. She frowned slightly, turning back to Wyatt, "They're not my friends Wy," she replied quietly so the group, which reallly wasn't all that far away, couldn't hear her.

His brows furrowed in confusion, "Why not?" he asked, this time it was his turn to shake his head in confusion, "You've never had trouble making friends in San Fransisco."

She sighed, he just had to say that so the group could hear right? "Well, this isn't San Fransisco, it's Albaquerque…" she trailed off as she looked at the group, her gaze lingering on Troy a second longer than the rest before returning her attention to her cousin. "And besides, all my friends in San Fran are like Missy, like us." She shot him a meaningful look which he quickly understood.

He nodded slowly, "Well, how about we head over to your house?" he asked getinng nods of approval from the cousins, "We should probably tell Aunt Prue that we're here so when mom calls she won't freak."

"Good idea," Chris said stepping next to Sharpay and drapping an arm around her shoulders. Sharpay had always been Chris' favorite cousin. She laughed at his antics which immediately brought a smile to his face as they started to walk off down the street, the large family talking admantly amongst themselves.

There was silence among the group of students who were still staring down the path the twins had taken. But with Chad there, the silence could only last a few moments, "What the hell was that?!" he shouted.

A/N - Okay! I know that Sharpay and Ryan's parents aren't Jake and Prue Evans...but in this story they are. Oh, yeah. HSM2 happened, but just imagine that you never got to see Sharpay and Ryan's parents, or that it was only their dad you saw. I know that in the movie, they were supposedly at the club all summer...but in this fic, Sharpay and Ryan were only there for the beginning of summer (remember? All for one, this summer has just begun...or something like that), the rest they spent with their family in California. This story takes place their senior year, just after winter break like in the first movie :) Also, I remembered from like elementry school something about Iceland actually being warmer than Greenland. I checked. Greenland is a little colder.

Also...this will be a Troypay fiction. And just to warn you guys...I don't think that Gabriella and Ryan will be together in this fic, it'll be Ryan/OC A.K.A. Missy Sparks. More about her later.


	3. Chapter Two

A/N - Warning: short chapter.

Chaper Two

Troy sat on the steps of his house, his hand going numb from holding his cell phone in the chilly night air. He'd been sitting there for nearly a half hour now, ever since he'd sent the text message. He was waiting for the recipent of the text to arrive…if she even decided to come that is.

He looked up suddenly as the sound of grass crunching beneath sneakers reached him. There, heading straight towards him was Sharpay. She had changed out of the outfit she'd worn to school and was now clad in a looser skirt with a sweater jacket firmly wrapped around her. Her hair was hanging around her shoulders, her eyes blazing as she glared at him. He really didn't know what she had to be angry at him about. It wasn't like she had to travel far to see him, they lived across the street for each other. They'd been neighbors since before Troy could remember.

"What do you want Bolton?" she spat, hugging her jacket closer to herself. She was beyond pissed right now. Here she was, standing out in the cold because Troy Bolton of all people wanted to talk. She should be in her house right now, spending time with the cousins she'd missed spending time with! They would have to leave in a few hours or risk the wrath of Sharpay's aunts and she knew that that was not something anyone wanted to encounter.

"Why didn't you tell me you had cousins?" he asked. He didn't know why it bothered him so much that he didn't know she had family in California, it wasn't like it was…

"None of your business," she snapped.

"Well, we've been neighbors since forever and…"

"Yes, that's exactly it Troy," she interupted, "That's all we are. We're neighbors, that's it. We're not even friends."

"But I thought…I mean after…" he stumbled, he couldn't understand why it hurt to think that Sharpay didn't consider him a friend.

She scoffed, "What? You thought that just because we stared in the fall play together that we're the best of chums?" she shook her head in disbelief, "You thought wrong Bolton."

Troy sighed. Last semester, before winter break, they'd had singles auditions for the fall play, Romeo and Juliet, and both Troy and Sharpay had gotten the leads. It had been awkward of course. Troy and Gabriella were dating, Sharpay barely talked to him (especially after what happened that summer), and Darbus was a slave driver. But he'd had a lot of fun with Sharpay, when they actually talked during the private sessions Darbus had forced them into, it was about a lot of things. They had a ton in common but as soon as school would start the next day, she'd be back to ignoring him…not that his teammates helped in that matter. They were constantly mocking Sharpay and cracking jokes about her brother which most likely didn't help the friendship he was trying to form with her and the friendship Ryan was trying to save with them.

"Well, why can't we _be_ friends now?"

She stared at him, an unknown expression on her face, "_Now_ you want to be friends?" she shook her head, her expression turning from one of exasperation to disgust. "Troy, I've been trying to be your friend since we started school together. And for a little while, we were, and it was great, but then you changed." She held up her hand to stop him from interrupting her, "You got all into basketball and you left me alone, you left Ryan alone. Do I need to remind you that you and him were best friends? Best friends Troy! And you ditched us. And for what? A sport? You even made fun of us just because Chad did. So forgive me if I don't drop to my knees and worship the almighty Basketball King."

"I'm sorry Shar…I just…"

"Pay," she answered, "It's Shar_pay_ to you _Bolton_. You left us alone, and we moved on. I think it's time you moved on too, we're just too different now. There are things about me that you'll never know about and things you'd never understand. It's better if we just keep our distance and stay classmates. Not friends, not even neighbors, but classmates. We attend the same school and that is as far as our common interests go."

She turned on her heel and stormed off back towards her house leaving Troy staring at her retreating back. She was right, it was his fault that they stopped being friends. He got way too into his sports and ignored both her and Ryan. He really couldn't blame her for pushing him away like she always did. He'd hurt her, badly, and he didn't think he'd ever be able to make that up to her…ever…

A/N – It's a really short chapter, but I wanted to just bring up some background about Sharpay and Troy's relationship. It will be Troypay, even if it doesn't seem so right now.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Troy laughed at a joke that Chad had just told as he stood in the crowded halls of East High surrounded by his friends, his arm around his girlfriend of nearly six months, Gabriella. His laugh was strained but no one noticed, the same way no one noticed his gaze repeatedly drifting off to a bright pink locker just across the hall. He was waiting, waiting for her to show up. He was nervous.

Last night had been weird. It was the first time he'd talked to Sharpay in private outside of school or rehersals. It had only gotten weirder as the night continued. An hour after he'd talked to Sharpay he'd heard yelling coming from her house. It was pretty quiet on his street so if someone were having an argument, it was quite easy to hear nearly every word of it. He'd thought that Sharpay or Ryan had gotten into an argument with one of their cousins but the shouting that was taking place was almost in audiable. And it didn't really sound like arguing, but more like just shouting. Then there was a really loud crash and the lights went out. He was worried, what had that crash been? Did someone get hurt? Was it Sharpay?

Why was he suddenly so worried about Sharpay?

That was probably a better question to be asking at that point, but before he could really think any more about it the doors to the school flew open and in came the dreaded Evans twins. Sharpay had a particularly angry expression on her face as she stomped her way to her locker, her brother following dutifully behind her. Troy squinted, it looked like they were talking about something, but he couldn't hear what it was. Even if he'd been able to read lips he wouldn't have been able to see them now that they had turned their back to the group and opened their lockers.

IOI

Sharpay fixed her dark red strapless dress as she made her way towards the doors of East High with her brother. He'd been trying to talk to her on the short walk up the steps, but she wasn't responding, seemingly more preocupied with brushing invisible dirt off her black shrug and black jeans under her dress.

She pushed the doors open and stormed towards her locker, the bright pink making her smile slightly.

"Come on Shar, slow down," he pleaded, as they reached the locker, "You know you're supposed to be taking it easy." He hissed the last part out so quietly that only Sharpay could hear. She whipped her head to the side about to give him a look but instead winced as her locker, which she had unceremoniously pulled open, hit her arm.

"You ok?" Ryan immediatley asked, reaching out for her arm when she pulled away.

"Fine," she replied quickly, turning back to the contents of her locker. Unfortunatley it wasn't fast enough for Ryan to miss the tears that refused to fall reflected in her eyes.

He sighed, "You should have told Wyatt or Henry or Bri about that…" he glanced at her clothed arm, still able to see the angry red cut that he knew was there. He looked back at his own locker, something aken to anger in his eyes, "…they could have healed you."

Sharpay turned to look at him once again, this time a softer expression on her face. She heard Ryan's underlaying words, he wished that he'd inherited their mother's healing abilities too, and because he hadn't, because he couldn't help her, he felt worthless. He always felt like that whenever she was hurt. She sighed, rubbing her arm gently, it was her own fault she'd been injured.

She shook her head, she shouldn't think like that…but she couldn't help it. She glanced around discreetly at all the students of East High and frowned…she was different. She and Ryan were more different than anyone in the school would ever know. None of the students were like them. They…were witches…actual, honest-to-god, magic weilding witches. Well…technically…they were half whitelighter…on their mother's side…

Their mother was Pruedence (Prue) Evans nee Halliwell, first of the Charmed Ones, the most powerful witches of the Warren decendents. She had once been a Charmed One, along with their Aunts Piper and Phoebe, but was killed by a demon and forbidden to return to Earth by the Elders, the evil bastards (according to their mother) in charge of overseeing good magic, until the final battle had taken place. Once their Aunt Paige, their mother's half sister, was found and joined the legacy of the Charmed Ones, it was only a matter of time before the final battle occurred. That very battle had taken place about twenty years ago, when their cousin Chris had been only a year old. Only Chris and Wyatt were alive during the battle, their other cousins, themselves included, had been born after the fact.

Once the final battle had been fought, their Aunts had won of course, they were rewarded with a visit from Prue, who had been revived as a Whitelight, a sort of guardian angel to witches. One of their mother Prue's charges was Jake Evans, a male witch with powers almost exactly the same to the powers she had had when she was still a witch. Their mother and father had fallen in love and, although it was still frowned upon by the Elders, they had been married…not that the Elders could have done anything about it even if they wanted to. Their uncle Leo had been a whitelighter and an elder as well and had married his charge, their Aunt Piper. Even their Aunt Paige was half whitelighter!

Their cousins Wyatt, Chris, and Henry were half whitelighter like they were. Their family was truly unique. Each of their cousins and them had powers, but what was odd was that, despite some of their cousins having the same parents, the powers were different. Her Aunt Phoebe's children all had their father's power of teleportation and Phoebe's power of empathy, but each had one extra power that their other siblings didn't, like Levitation, Pyrokenisis, and Premonitions. Wyatt had loads of powers, many more than any of their cousins because he had been born on a magical day that blessed him with twice as much power as a normal witch. Chris had a few of uncle Leo's and aunt Piper's powers, but their sister Melinda had only Piper's power. Aunt Paige's children were the perfect example of the power divisions. Her son Henry had all of Paige's powers, being half whitelighter and all, but his sisters, the twins split the powers of a whitelighter and a witch with one being a full fledged whitelighter and the other having the powers that Paige herself would have had had she been a full witch. Sharpay and Ryan, well, they ended up with spilt powers. All the powers that their mother and father had, had been divided equally between the two of them. One could heal like a whitelighter, while the other could only sense others like a whitelighter. One could astral project like their father could, while the other could use cryokenisis like their father.

Sharpay looked up at one of the few pictures she had hanging in her locker. It was taken by her mother that very summer. Her mother loved photography and had taken a beautiful picture of Sharpay, Ryan, and all their cousins. She frowned as the thoughts of last night came back to her.

She, Ryan, and her cousins had just sat around talking about everything that had happened over the break that they missed when out of nowhere a few upperlevel demons shimmered in and started to attack them! They should have been more prepared, she thought later. She had noticed that whenever all the Charmed children were together some demon or another always attacked them. She guessed that it was due to the fact that there was such a concentrated area of magic when they were all together. Each of them were very powerful in their own, at times Sharpay and Ryan were more powerful than Wyatt…at least when their emotions were high. Their Aunt Billie…a very good friend of their family…and her late sister Christie had been just like the twins now. A lot of power channeled through only two people instead of three like with their cousins. Of course they were all more powerful when they were together with their siblings, much like their mother and aunts had been, but among the group, the most powerful were Wyatt, Sharpay, and Ryan. Their mother had asked Aunt Billie to train them since she was the only one who knew what occurred when the two would join up to use their powers. They'd even been trained by Wyatt a little for when they were on their own.

They'd managed to defeat the demons, but their living room had been nearly destroyed…but then again, having things destroyed due to demon fights was perfectly natural and all too expected when dealing with Charmed ones. Unfortunately for Sharpay, a demon had managed to cut her arm in the fight. She normally would be able to heal herself, being dealt the ability to heal herself and others…had the athame she'd been cut with not been cursed to prevent that wound from being self healed.

She glanced at Ryan to see him eyeing her concernedly, he always worried about her…and he usually had good reason to…especially after… She shook her head firmly and looked back at her locker, but she could still feel Ryan's gaze on her. She felt herself get angry, not at Ryan's worriesomeness, but at herself for her own stupidity. She had been careless last night and had gotten injured as a result, heck she'd almost gotten everyone hurt last night. Ever since she was younger, her family would always ban together to protect each other, but her especially..and she hated it! She should be able to defend herself and not have half her family get hurt just because they don't want her to fight or 'overexurt herself' like her parents are always saying. It made her feel so weak…so worthless…It made her feel like she deserved any injury she got from a fight, because she wasn't good enough to not get injured.

She sighed, she probably should have asked Wyatt or Henry or Bri to heal her arm though. How would she explain the cut on her arm during gym? The East High gym uniforms consisted of a white tanktop and red shorts.

She looked up at Ryan, "I just…didn't want to worry them…"

Ryan's eyebrows shot up before narrowing slightly in anger, "You _never_ want to worry anyone! But then we just end up worrying twice as much because you never tell us when something's wrong. Remember when…"

"I remember," she cut him off. She really didn't want to be having this discussion in the crowded halls of East High. It was a conversation to be had in the privacy of their own home or not at all.

She quickly reached into her locker, pulling her books out she was about to slam it shut like she always did when someone spoke from beside her. "What are those pictures of Sharpay?"

Sharpay groaned inwardly, she knew that happy, peppy, abnoxious voice anywhere, "It's none of your business Montez," she snapped, she attempted again to slam the locker shut, but Ryan held it open. She groaned again, she knew what was coming, ever since the summer Ryan had warmed up to the Wildcats and was always trying to stay in their good graces.

"It's our family," he answered stepping next to the now fully open locker door. He glanced at Gabriella who was standing next to Taylor with their boyfriends standing behind them. He pointed to the top of the five pictures hanging in Sharpay's locker, "This one is of our parents," and indeed it was. It had been taken just over break on the cruise. "And this…" he pointed to the one just below it, "Is of our mother and her three sisters. Our aunts Piper, Phoebe, and Paige, and their husbands, our dad, Uncle Leo, Uncle Coop, and Uncle Henry." Sharpay rolled her eyes, he didn't have to tell them everyone's names, it wasn't like they'd ever meet their family. But that obviously didn't stop Ryan as he moved on to the middle picture, a snapshot of 11 kids just sitting around in a back yard. "This is us with our cousins."

"Who's who?" Taylor asked leaning forward slightly to get a better view of the picture. "I know that's Wyatt and Chris…" she pointed to the two men from yesterday, "But who are the other ones?"

Ryan smiled and started pointing to the various people on the picture, "This is Melinda, or Mel, she's Wyatt and Chris' sister…our Aunt Piper's kids," he moved over to the boy and twins, "These are Henry Jr. after Aunt Paige's husband Henry, and her twins Brianna and Charlot," and then to the three brunettes, "And Aunt Phoebe's Penny, Patty, and Prue…after our great-grandmother, grandmother, and our mother. Mom and her were really close."

Taylor made an 'o' while Gabriella squealed, "Oh my gosh, Wyatt and Chris were sooo hot!"

If Sharpay wasn't paying attention to this little conversation she was now as she stared at Gabriella with an expression between shock and disgust. Troy stared at Gabriella in shock, how could she think someone else was hotter than him? "What?" Taylor asked, nodding her head in agreement with Gabriella, "They are."

"Taylor!" Chad whined but Taylor and Gabriella merely laughed.

Ryan started laughing a second later, not from what Gabriella or Taylor had said, but Sharpay's expression. She was making gaging signs, of course she would think that it was gross that others thought that her cousins were hot. He just found it funny, "Don't let Maya or B hear you say that," he said still laughing.

"Who?" Gabriella asked.

Ryan merely pointed to the next picture of Wyatt and a beautiful red haired woman holding a baby boy in between the two. "Maya Jameson is Wyatt's wife, and this little tyke," he pointed to the child, "Is Matthew Halliwell, their son." He pointed to the next picture, ignoring the shocked faces of Taylor and Gabriella, "And Chris is engaged to Bianca Donahue."

"How old are they?" Taylor asked, they looked like they were still in high school…or at least early college.

Ryan smirked, "Wyatt's the oldest, he's 23, Chris is 21. Then there's Charlot Brianna and Penny, they're all around 19. Me and Sharpay and Patty are 18, Prue's 17. Mel's 16 and Henry's the youngest at 15."

"How old is Mis…"

"What is this?" Sharpay interrupted Troy's question, "20 questions? It's none of your business." She slammed her locker shut and started walking down the hall, "Come on Ryan!" she shouted. He gave them an apologetic smile and hurried after her.

A/N – I'm not sure what's going to happen in the next chapter…so it might take just a tad bit longer to update this story. I had the beginning and a little bit of the middle thought up…if anyone has any suggestions for what they'd like to see happen, or if they're confused about anything involving Charmed, just leave a review and I'll try to incorporate it into the story :) For those of you who watch Charmed, or at least saw the episode 'Chris-Crossed', I decided to give Bianca the last name of Donahue because (according to babynames-dot-com) Donahue means Dark Fighter. For those who don't watch Charmed and don't get why I gave her that name, it'll all be explained later :)


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Sharpay slammed her locker shut with a vengence, she was so annoyed! All day Gabriella, Taylor, and Kelsi had hounded her about Wyatt and Chris, and Sharpay was sure that, had Henry been about three years older, they'd be after information for him as well. She'd explained to them over and over again that her cousins were taken…that _they_ were taken…but it didn't seem to matter to the three. It was like they were fangirls and her cousins were famous movie stars, they may be married or dating or whatever but that wouldn't stop the fangirls from drooling over them.

She'd gotten to the point where she'd see them coming down the halls and make a break for it the other way. It wasn't like she had to worry about what the student body thought of her, they'd just think that she was being her usual bitchy self and storming over something. Funny thing was…that's exactly how she wanted it. She wanted everyone to be wary of her, to avoid her like the plague, to leave her alone. Ryan may think differently than her and want to spend time with the 'popular' people, but not Sharpay. The farther they were from her, the better. The farther she could push them from her, the better.

She knew it was probably wrong to do that…but she'd heard what happened to her aunts and the friends they had had before they discovered they were witches. She remembered what happened to Andy. She sighed, Andy Trudeau had been friends with their mother and aunts since they were children. He and their mother Prue had been very close, romantically as well as as friends. He'd practically grown up with their mother and been exposed to their magic slightly as a child as well as later on in life. He'd been a detective and a man who knew about their secret lives as witches. He died though…killed by a demon while trying to protect their mother. It had been very hard for their mom to handle, she hadn't been able to start a serious relationship again until their dad came along.

Sharpay frowned in thought, she didn't think she'd be able to handle it if someone in East High died because of her secret. Sure, she didn't count Gabriella, Taylor, Kelsi, Zeke, Jason, or Chad as her friends, but that didn't mean she wanted them to die for her. She especially didn't want Troy to die…truth be told…she really had strong feelings for him. She'd always had a crush on him, ever since elementry school when they'd actually been friends and even after that friendship ended. She cared for him, probably more than she should considering that he was dating Gabriella now, but still…that was why she was so much colder to him than the others, she had to make sure that he stayed away from her.

She thought back to that summer, she had been stupid and she had been weak. She'd spent a lot of time with Troy at Lava Springs, more than she probably should have…but she couldn't help it. She'd spent years crushing over the boy and finally had a chance to just hang out with him without the Wild Cats able to interrupt them or mock her. About half way through her stay there she realized that she was doing something she swore she wouldn't do…get close to anyone. She never told her parents her plans to stay single the rest of her life because she knew that they would be disappointed in her. They wouldn't want her fear to control her life, but it seemed like her life would always be led by fear. She was absolutely terrified to find a guy who loved her and knew her completely…only to loose him. She'd heard the stories about Grams, her great-grandmother. She'd been completely heartbroken when her first husband had been killed, and Sharpay doubted she was as strong as Grams, who had picked herself up and took care of her family…no, she knew she wasn't that strong. She'd break down and probably do something completely stupid and get everyone she cared about hurt or killed.

She had been serious about helping Troy get the scholarship to college, if she couldn't be with Troy, the least she could do was help him have a great life. She and Ryan figured that they should probably leave Lava Springs early enough where Troy would get the scholarship and she could get away from him. She and Ryan had had it all planned out. Sharpay was supposed to take Gabriella and Troy's song, which would leave Ryan 'feeling left out' and Kelsi mad at her. Then, Kelsi was supposed to talk to Troy and Gabriella about Sharpay taking the song, which would lead Troy to refuse to sing with her. Ryan, acting all put off, was to leave a little early for California to be followed shortly after by Sharpay, who would leave once Troy refused to sing with her…but unfortunately it all went wrong when goody-goody Gabriella had intercepted Ryan before he could leave. Ryan was always a polite guy and probably wouldn't have been able to refuse the offer to hang out with the gang and choreograph their act for the talent show even if he tried. Because of that one moment, they'd had to figure out a way to leave again. They'd agreed to make the junior employees unavailable for the night of the Talent contest, that way Ryan was free to leave for California. Sharpay was fully expecting someone to come and yell at her about that little development, but was surprised that it was Gabriella who came. After that it went down hill again, Troy and Gabriella broke up and Sharpay felt guilty, so she and Ryan had had to stay and try to fix the mess before they could leave. The only good thing that seemed to come out of the mess was that Troy had a greater dislike for her than before, which ensured that he wouldn't try to get close Sharpay, which to her was all for the better.

She sighed again, her aunts were always pushing her and her cousins to make mortal friends, but…she never seemed able to. All her friends in California were just like her and Ryan, they were witches, they were magical. She didn't need mortal friends. She had friends who were whitelighters, who were witches, who were fairies and nymphs and leprechauns, hell, her best friend was half demon! Missy Christine Sparks was Aunt Billie's and Uncle Ty (Tyson Sparks) daughter. Uncle Ty was an upperlevel demon, a lot like Aunt Phoebe's ex-husband Cole Turner A.K.A. Belthazor. He could shimmer to different places, create energy balls, and fire balls as well. He'd been on assignment to kill Aunt Billie after her sister Christie died, since she'd be vulnerable then. But for some reason, he couldn't kill her…instead they ended up getting married and four years later, Missy was born. Missy was a 17 year old half demon/witch, she could shimmer like her father and make energy balls (but not fireballs), along with the gift of telekenisis from her mother.

Sharpay shook her head, no, she didn't need mortal friends, they just complicate things. She turned from her locker and came face to face with none other than Troy Bolton. She let out a frustrated groan before side stepping him and continuing down the hall. Unfortunately…he followed her.

"Hey Shar…" she glared at him, "…pay. Sharpay." He cleared his throat obviously uncomfortable, "I uh…I just…"

"Spit it out Botlon," she snapped, "You're gonna make me late for gym."

He took a deep breath, "I just wanted to know if everything was ok." She gave him a look that clearly said she had no idea what he was talking about, so he continued, "Last night…I heard a lot of shouting…and a crash…and the lights went out…"

Sharpay suddenly stopped and turned to face him. For a split second she looked slightly fearful before her expression changed so fast that it left Troy wondering if he had imagined it or not. Her face broke out into an annoyed look as she rolled her eyes, "What you heard…was a water balloon fight."

He stared at her for a moment in disbelief, "A…water balloon fight?"

She nodded, shrugging her shoulders, "That's what you get when you put Henry and Penny in the same room." She looked at her nails, examining them as she continued, "The crash was Mel knocking over the bookshelf and the lights going out was when Ryan threw a balloon, missed Wyatt, and hit the fuse box." She looked up at him though her eyelashes, "Any other questions?"

"Uh…" he looked around at the nearly empty halls, realizing that the bells would probably ring any minute now and they'd both be late, "No…sorry…"

Sharpay rolled her eyes at him and continued down the hall, quickly disappearing through the doors to the gym. Troy stood there, staring at the door…till the high shrill of the late bell shook him out of his thoughts…

IOI

Sharpay leaned against the wall just outside the empty gym hall. Not many people decided to stick around by the locker room doors…especially not the boys locker room. The smells that came from there coupled with the stench from the janitor's closet across the hall was enough to drive off even the athletes who chose to just get into the locker rooms and gym as fast as possible. The only thing that allowed Sharpay to stand in that hall was the fact that the doors that led outside had been left open, carrying the rank smells out on the wind and letting a breeze carry fresh air towards her. She was waiting for Ryan who was currently talking to Ms. Darbus about the winter musicale, about what it would be. They always took turns asking her, that way they weren't annoying her or ganging up on her.

She looked up suddenly to see him walking towards her a huge grin on his face. She smiled herself, it must be good to get him to smile like that. "Hey Ry," she said pushing herself off the lockers to stand on her own.

"Hey," he greeted stepping up next to her, "How'd gym go?"

She glanced at him, she wasn't sure if he was just trying to prolong telling her what the musical was or if he was really just that concerned. She knew it was the latter though so she decided not to prolong telling him how it went either, "Ok…"

"Ok?" he asked, a confused expression making its way onto his face, "Didn't anyone notice your cut?"

She shook her head, "Nope."

"But how? It's…" he asked before trailing off, realization dawning on his face, "Shar…what did you do?"

She gave him a guilty look, "Nothing!" but he merely gave her a look that said 'I don't believe you'. She sighed, "Fine…I glamoured it."

His eyes widened in shock, "You what!? Shar, you know we're not supposed to do that around…around…" he struggled to find the right word, "…around muggles!"

She looked at him, an amused look on her face, "Muggles Ryan?"

He nodded his head firmly, a smile making it's way onto his face too, "Yes, muggles." Sharpay just laughed at that, "What?" he asked, "It's a perfectly good word."

"I know it is," she said laughing more.

Ryan rolled his eyes, shaking his head at his sister, "But still Shar…you know we're not supposed to do...you know…" He looked around, dropping his voice, "…magic…" It wasn't like he had to lower his voice, the hall was usually deserted which was why the twins met there after school everyday.

"I know," she said just as low, "But I think mom would rather me do that than have half the student body asking me how I got this." She pulled part of her shrug off her shoulder, holding it down to show Ryan the cut. He reached out, gently taking her arm in his hands. The cut looked a lot worse than he remembered it being that morning. The area around the wound was all red and the skin was slightly raised.

He touched it gently and Sharpay let out a hiss of pain. He pulled his hands back and she fixed her shrug. "That looks really bad Shar," he said, "You should let mom have a look at it…it might be infected or…something…"

Sharpay sighed, she knew what he was getting at. He was refering to all the times their mother and aunts had been cut with something, thinking it was nothing, only to have it turn out to be really really serious later.

"I guess you're right…" she mumbled.

"I know I'm right," he said proudly, puffing out his chest slightly. They both laughed when Ryan's glance landed on his watch. "Oh! Wow, Shar we gotta go if we're gonna make it to school on time."

Sharpay groaned, for years now she and Ryan had been pulling double duty, going to East High as well as Magic School which helped them learn to control their powers as well as other basics that every witch should know. Sharpay was great in Potions, most likely due to Aunt Piper. Aunt Piper was a chef and so, cooking and potion making just came naturally to her. Whenever they went to visit her at the Manor, Sharpay would end up cooking with her. Sharpay was a great cook as well and usually ended up making all the refreshments and snacks that the cast would end up eating during the last week of rehersals for the plays and musicals. Ryan on the other hand was exceptional in Spell Casting, it was the poet in him. He was amazing in Sharpay's opinion, he could whip up a spell of the top of his head almost as fast as Aunt Phoebe.

But still…she really hated going, wasn't attending one school enough? Every weekday she and Ryan would get out of school by 2:45 and orb home. Sharpay loved orbing, it was one of the few things that she and Ryan could do together, it was the only power that they had both received from their mother. Orbing was basically disappearing in a flurry of white and light blue orbs of light and reappearing in a different place. Anyway, she and Ryan would orb home, depending on how early they got out of school they might be able to catch a quick snack. At three pm exactly an old wooden door would appear at the top of their stairs and they'd be off to Magic School. They would be stuck there for three hours…or what seemed like three hours to everyone else, but to Ryan and Sharpay, they would be there for about six hours, pretty much an average school day. It kind of stunk to be stuck in Magic School doing nothing but learning and studying and practicing with almost no leisure time to hang out with other students. They'd get out pretty much at six and would end up orbing back to East High for Drama. Being Co-Presidents of the Drama Club gave them some pull over when the rehersals and callbacks were held. They almost always managed to make it to Drama either on time or early. Then after Drama they'd go home, have dinner, do homework and just hang out.

"Come on Shar," he said holding out his hand for her to take, "It's not that bad."

"Says the teacher's pet," she mumbled before smiling and rolling her eyes as she took his hand.

Ryan gave a fake huff of annoyance, "Just for that, I'm not going to tell you what the musical is," he said, smirking at the outraged expression on his sisters face. He laughed as he led her out the door, making sure that no one was there before disappearing in a mess of white and blue. A few moments later a door creaked open and the head of Troy Bolton peeked through. He looked up and down the halls before shaking his head, he could have sworn that he heard Sharpay and Ryan talking there just a few seconds ago. He looked around the halls one more time…maybe he was wrong.

"Yo Troy!" he heard Chad call him from inside the gym, "You gonna lead practice or what?"

Troy groaned, he was at practice with the Wild Cats…at least he was until 6 when the first meeting for the Winter Musical was being held. He had to admit, he was looking forward to seeing what the musical they'd be performing.

IOI

Sharpay giggled as Ryan tugged on the sleeve of his shirt for what must have been the millionth time. He sent a glare at her, "Would you stop that?" he asked.

She giggled once more, putting a hand on her mouth to smother the laughs, "I can't help it," she hissed as they walked down the empty halls of East High, all those interested in the musical were in the auditorium waiting for the meeting to start, "I told you not to add that second pinch of Toadstool."

She started giggling again, she and Ryan had been paired together for their potions class. They were reviewing what they had learned before the break, potions of molecular combustion. Basically it was a potion that would make anything it hit explode. It was reserved for the seniors of the school since it was potentially dangerous if brewed incorrectly. She had been busy cutting the Ginger root when Ryan was supposed to add the toadstool to the potion. She'd looked up in time to see him about to put a second pinch in and told him not to. Unfortunatley it had been too late. Sharpay dunked down behind their desk but Ryan hadn't been that lucky. The potion exploded and Ryan had been covered by it. He'd managed to sheild his face…but with his arms…which were now shade of emerald green. Every part of skin that the potion touched had been turned green! They'd had to stop home so Ryan could take a record breaking shower and change into a long sleeved shirt. Sharpay herself had changed as well having gotten at least some potion on her clothes and was now sporting a sparkly white tank top, the wound on her arm completely gone. They'd run into Henry on the way to classes and he'd healed the cut for her, no questions asked. That was what she loved about Henry, he didn't ask her questions. Sometimes she felt that Henry must be a little bit of an empath (most likely because he was part whitelighter, and whitelighters could feel their charges emotions at times) because he seemed to be one of the few that understood that Sharpay would not tell anything unless she was ready. She'd probably contact him later on tonight to tell him how she'd gotten the cut, if only because she felt guilty for not telling him anything...

Ryan suddenly stopped by the door to the Auditorium and gave Sharpay a look. She knew, they'd be going in soon. With one single deep breath her giggles ceased and her face became the stoney icy mask that Ryan was so used to seeing at school. He shook his head at her, he knew why she did that, he knew she was worried that people might get hurt. But he thought she was going about it the wrong way. She shouldn't push people away before they even got a chance to know her, before they even got a chance to choose for themselves to persue a friendship. That was why Ryan was so cautious around the Wild Cats. He saw no problem in being friends with them, but knew that there would be slim chance of hanging out with them somewhere or even of having them over his house. While their house in Albaquerque wasn't as often attacked as the Manor in California, being a Charmed child still made them a target and there were the odd demon attacks now and then. He simply figured that, if anyone ever did find out about them, then they should be able to choose what to do with the information; remain friends or never speak again. It was not his choice, or even Sharpay's to make, and he could only hope that one day, she would see that.

"You ready?" she asked, before adding "Cause you look a little…sea sick…"

Before he could reply with something sarcastic she had thrown open the door to the auditorium and was strutting down the aisle. He rolled his eyes at her antics before following her to where she sat down in the front row. He looked around, most of the basketball team was there sitting with Troy, Gabriella, Taylor, and Chad. Gabriella and Chad gave him pitying looks which he could only assume was because of Sharpay, but he chose to ignore them, instead turning to face Ms. Darbus who had just walked on stage.

"Hello, hello my fine actors and actresses!" she said, clapping her hands together, "Now then, I'm sure all of you…" she trailed off slightly as she spotted Chad sitting in the audience, "…well, most of you…are as excited as I am to hear this following announcement. I have taken a lot into consideration when picking our Winter Musicale…and I believe I have finally reached a decision that will be exeptionally well receieved." She paused again, looking out at the students seated before her, trying to draw out the anticipation. Sharpay glanced at Ryan who merely smirked at her before looking back up at Darbus. "I have decided…that we shall be performing…Wicked!"

Sharpay's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as her peers started cheering around her. She looked over to see Ryan laughing at her expression and slowly found herself chuckling a little too, "It had to be witches didn't it?" she asked.

Ryan merely laughed more and put his arm around his sister good naturedly, an action that went unnoticed by all but one.

A/N – So…yeah, just so people know, glamouring means that Sharpay cast a spell to cover up the wound on her arm so no one would see it. I had no idea what to write for this chapter, so I decided to continue from the previous one. I totally made up the Tyson Sparks guy, he was in no way a part of the Charmed series, but I did want to make Billie paired with a demon, I had to get one in there somewhere. More information about Missy and Ryan's relationship will be given later on :) Hope you liked this chappy!


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

She sucked in another breath of the chilly morning air, her sneakers squeaked slightly as they thudded against the concrete of the sidewalk. Her legs and lungs burned with the effort of her long run. She had reached the mid point of her run and was currenlty heading back towards her house. Her sweatpant bottoms were soggy from the dew of the grass she had run through before and she was sure that there were stains on her shirt from her sweat. Her long blonde hair was being held out of her face in a high ponytail, the white sweatband around her forehead helping to keep the stray strands of hair from her face.

She shook her head as she heard a second pair of footsteps speeding up to join her. There was only one other person who lived on that part of town who could possibly be up that early in the morning.

"Hey Sharpay," Troy said as he jogged next to her.

She gave him a fleeting glance, taking in his appearance. He was dressed in a pair of navy blue shorts and a very sweat soaked greay shirt, "Bolton," she replied, merely acknowledging his presence.

They jogged a little in silence before Troy sped up and turned so he was jogging backwards, facing her, "So why are you jogging?" he asked trying to make conversation.

She sent a glare at him, "None of your business."

The smile that had made its way onto his face fell slightly, "I just meant…you don't seem like the athletic type…"

She shook her head, "And you don't seem like the singing type…" she threw back.

Troy was about to reply when he suddenly felt himself falling backwards. He landed on the middle of the thankfully empty street having not seen the curb just behind him as he jogged. He heard Sharpay stop beside him and, fully expecting her to just walk off and leave him, he started to sit up…that was…until a hand appeared in front of his face. He looked up to see Sharpay standing over him, actually offering him a hand up.

He took it, letting her help him up while trying to ignore the shiver that went down his spine at the contact with her skin. As soon as he was standing, he felt a tingle on the back of his head. He was about to reach up and touch it when Sharpay smacked his hand away. A moment later the tingle stopped and he realized that it had been Sharpay's own hand on the back of his head that was tingling him, she must have been checking to see if he'd been hurt…but why? Didn't she hate him now?

"You hit the ground kinda hard," she said, stating the obvious, "But you're not bleeding so you'll probably have a bump or something."

And with that, she took off down the street, leaving Troy standing there, dazed, confused, and with his hand on the back of his head where hers had been only moments before…

Sharpay ran as fast as she could, trying to get as far away from Troy as possible. It was a good thing he was a lunk head basketball guy…otherwise he might have noticed what she had done. He had been bleeding, he'd scraped his head on the asphalt…but she'd healed it. It was a natural reaction for her, when someone was injured, she healed them. It was just how it worked…the fact that it was Troy Bolton had absolutely nothing to do with it at all…really…

She shook her head firmly, focusing her thoughts back on her jog. She'd been jogging in the morning as part of her work out for years now. Every day she'd wake up at six and work out in her family's fitness room before going on a jog to cool down. She'd come home, shower, and have breakfast with her family before she and Ryan would head off to school. They always drove to school, because it might be just a little suspicious if they just appeared out of no where. After school they'd glamour the car to be invisible and orb home, then orb back to school for Drama, and drive home from there.

She slowed as she reached the front lawn of her house, stretching her sore limbs. Each day she worked out, went to school, went to magic school, went to Drama, did her homework, and practiced. She had a very full day, which she had convinced herself, was an omen that even if she wanted friends, she'd never have time for them. Her magic had to come first at this point in her life, she had to make herself stronger, better, faster…anything that would help her when she had to use her magic.

As she stretched she thought back to herself, to her magic. When she was younger, just learning the craft, she and Ryan had been attacked by a demon. She'd been hurt…badly…and ever since then, her powers had never been the same…she had never been the same. She didn't like thinking about that memory very much. Ever since that day, she'd been weaker in both magic and strength. Simple things had seemed like herculean tasks to her back then, which was why she worked so hard now-a-days. She pushed herself, each day working out a little more, lifting a little more, using her powers a little more. And each day she struggled with herself as well as with Ryan who was always on the look out to make sure she wasn't overdoing it. She wanted to be stronger so she could fight for herself, and she felt that someday soon, she'd be at the level she should have been. She still had to be careful not to 'overexhurt herself' for fear of relapsing or something like that.

She shook out her arms and cracked her neck to the side before walking into her house. "Hey Shar!" Ryan called from the kitchen just as she reached the steps, "Toast and eggs good for today?"

"Fine!" she called before rushing up the stairs. She and Ryan always took turns making breakfast for each other in the mornings, surprisingly enough, toast and eggs were the only things that Ryan could make without burning.

IOI

Sharpay sat in the auditorium of East High anxiously tapping her foot. She and Ryan had been forced to sit though the horrible rehersals of their peers, a perfect waste of their Free Period. Ms. Darbus had been very tricky this year. She'd decided to make tryouts for the musical only one week after she'd told what the musical was going to be. There were to be no callbacks and all the auditions were going to be singles again. Darbus had had her hands full during the last musical when she'd discovered that Troy and Gabriella, though amazing when singing together, were horrible actors! Well…Gabriella was, Troy was fair. But still…Ryan and Sharpay always made it a point to audtition last, a way to show everyone how it should have been done. But then…that also meant that they had to sit though a bunch of people with their horrid acts.

They were currently listening to Gabriella singing…while trying to retain their ear drums. Don't get them wrong, they thought Gabriella was a great singer…when she had someone to follow, but on her own she was kind of high pitched and nasally, a sort of squeakieness to her voice. Troy had gone just before her with a upbeat but still laid back song, even Chad and Taylor had tried out. Sharpay had no idea what song Gabriella was singing, and quite frankly, she really didn't care. She just wanted to get the auditions over with and get the part she wanted, Elphaba.

Gabriella finished with a big finish, which would have been pretty good had her voice not cracked near the end. Sharpay turned to Ryan and gave him an encouraging pat on the back making sure that no one could see it. She always supported Ryan but she couldn't have all of East High finding out that she actually had a non-icy side to her. She watched as he went on stage and listened to the beginning of his song 'Dancing Through Life' from Wicked.

She started to zone out however, starting to think of her own song and the role she coveted. Half of East High…scratch that…all of East High was probably thinking that she'd audition for the role of G(a)linda, the happy, preppy, rich, blonde, most popular girl in Wicked. But she wasn't, the role she wanted was Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. She thought that Elphaba was much more like her than Glinda was. Yes, Glinda and she were both blonde, popular, and rich…but Elphaba hit her much closer to home. Elphaba grew up being unloved by her father, much like Sharpay was by her peers, in the shadow of her sister Nessarose who everyone adored, like everyone did with Gabriella, and shunned because of her green façade like Sharpay was for her icy mask. Elphaba was alone most of her life, especially when the boy she loved was with another girl. But still, Elphaba perservered, fighting against the evils of the world and helped protect all the innocents she came across, even when others thought her a monster. Sharpay related to her so much more than Galinda.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by a roar of applause for Ryan who was slowly decending from the stage an encouraging smile directed straight at her. She stood up, making her way to the stage, giving him a grateful smile in return. She got to center stage, pretending to fix her hair, there was no microphone to use, Ms. Darbus wanted to hear their raw voices instead of amplified ones. She pointed to Kelsi, indicating her to start playing the melody while she turned to face the back of the stage. She let the soft music wash over her, thinking about everything in her life, letting herself slip into her character.

She turned around quickly, eyeing the audience before starting to sing, "Hands touch, eyes meet. Sudden silence..." Everyone in the audience was captivated at her voice. Ryan smirked, he knew she was a shoe-in for the role. He watched her, she was doing something that not many of the other students, save himself, had done, act while singing. She lifted her hand to rest on her cheek and Ryan could swear that she'd made herself blush, but was content to just watch her sing, "…sudden heat. Hearts leap in a giddy whirl. He could be that boy…But I'm not that girl…"

Sharpay had been moving across the stage slowly as if daydreaming, but stopped suddenly, a slightly warning look on her face as she continued, "Don't dream too far, don't lose sight of…" she looked down at her hands, almost able to imagine them covered in green, "…who you are. Don't remember that rush of joy…He could be that boy…I'm not that girl…"

She looked utterly heart broken at that point, but suddenly her face broke out into a grin, as if reminiscing or reminding herself of some small fact that should have been comforting to anyone who wasn't her, "Every so often we long to steal to the land of what-might-have-been…" she looked down sadly, "But that doesn't soften the ache we feel when reality sets back in…"

She sat down on one of the lone boxes that littered the stage, making it look like she was just wandering around in her sorrow, "Blithe smile, lithe limb, she who's winsome, she wins him." She reached out and took a piece of her hair in her hands, imaging it to be blacker than black, "Gold hair with a gentle curl…that's the girl he chose and Heaven knows…I'm not that girl…"

She stood up suddenly and Ryan swore he could see tears in her eyes as she started berating herself on stage, "Don't wish, don't start, wishing only wounds the heart. I wasn't born for the rose and the pearl…there's a girl I know…he loves her so…I'm not that girl."

She'd finished so softly that her voice practically blended with the piano to the point where even Ryan didn't know when she had stopped singing. Kelsi slowly let up on the keys, staring in shock at Sharpay who merely bowed before standing up and wiping below her eyes. Ryan knew that those were actual tears in her eyes, the song really hit close to home for her. It didn't seem like anyone else had noticed that small detail since everyone had started to begrudgingly applaud her unlike Ms. Darbus' enthusiastic ones. He looked around, most of the Wild Cats seemed reluctant to clap at all, and he knew it was for one of two reasons. They either knew that Sharpay was a lock in for the lead and that their friends might not get the leads again, or they just hated Sharpay that much that despite her doing an amazing job they refused to applaud more than necessary. He looked over though, noticing that Troy of all people didn't seem to have a problem cheering out loud. He had to smile at Troy's actions; he knew that even if she wouldn't show it, his applause meant a lot to Sharpay.

She plopped down next to him and he gave her another smile, which she returned if only for a moment. They barely paid attention as Ms. Darbus made the parting announcements that the list of cast members would be posted tomorrow and the first official meeting would be tomorrow during free period once again. The bell rang just as Darbus finished her announcement and before she could even wish them a good day, the auditorium was empty.

IOI

"_Shar!" Ryan called, running after her through the Manor, "Shar stop! You're not supposed to be running!"_

"_Gotta catch me first Ry!" She shouted again, trying to run faster. She honestly didn't know why everyone was so worried about her, she was just having some fun, why was Ryan such a worrywart? She was fine…really…not tired at all…ok, maybe a little. But she had been easily tiring out for a while lately, but she was getting better…really…_

"_Shar come on!" he called, running up the stairs two at a time before running down the hall towards the attic where he could see Sharpay through the open door way…where he could see… "Shar! Demon!"_

_Sharpay spun around just as a demon finished shimmering in behind her. He grabbed her arms, holding a hand over her mouth before shimmering to the other side of the room just as Ryan ran in. Sharpay struggled, trying to shout to her brother that there was another demon shimmering in just behind him. She shut her eyes in concentration "RYAN!" she shouted in her mind._

_She was too late though, just as Ryan turned around the demon blasted him. He went flying through the air, crashing into the wall with a sickening crunch. Sharpay squirmed in the demon's grasp, struggling and shrieking into his hand._

"_Keep a firm grip on that one," the demon said to the one holding her captive, "She's the one who can't orb."_

_Sharpay's eyes widened in fear, how did he know she couldn't orb yet? But she barely had time to contemplate this as the demon before her made a fireball in his hands and turned to her brother who was struggling to get up off the floor. The demon took another step closer to him, raising his hand about to attack…_

"RYAN!" she shouted, bolting up right in bed. A second later the door to her room was flung open and her brother appeared, slightly disheveled and in his pajamas. He ran forward, jumping onto Sharpay's bed and gathering her into his arms.

"Shhh," he whispered, rocking her back and forth as she clung to him, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry Ry…" she whispered, the tears in her voice almost making her words inaudible, "I'm so sorry…"

"It's alright Shar," he whispered back. He knew what had happened, she'd had the nightmare again. It was one she always had after a demon fight, usually only if he or she had gotten injured. They'd been at the manor, and Sharpay had run off. It had been about two years after their fist encounter with a demon and he'd been trying to get her to slow down because he didn't want her to overexert herself like she seemed so prone to doing. A demon had attacked him while holding Sharpay back, she hadn't been able to orb at the time…or so he'd thought. Just as the demon was about to get him, she'd orbed right in front of the fireball meant for him. She'd been injured but still managed to take out both demons by telekinetically throwing the demon's next fireball back at him. The other demon had shimmered out, but had later been dealt a very painful death by their aunts when they found out what had happened. But even after it was over, Sharpay still blamed herself for getting him hurt. She always did that, every time someone got hurt around her because of a demon she blamed herself.

"…all my fault…" she whispered, hugging him closer.

He sighed, running a hand through her hair, an action which usually helped calm her down, "It's not Shar…" he whispered, hugging her as well, "It never is…"

A/N – So…just wanted to add some depth to Sharpay's character. Kind of makes sense of her whole 'push people away' thing…kinda…Anyway, next chapter will reveal who got what part and maybe a cute little Troypay scene mixed with a slightly funny Gabriella and Sharpay conversation thing…hopefully will be better than it sounds lol. Also, about the powers of the twins, all Sharpay's will be revealed in the next chapter and the one after, as will most of Ryan's...though, two of his will remain a secret until probably chapter nine or ten :)


	7. Chapter Six

A/N - Just a slight warning. This chapter and chapters after may contain spoilers for the musical Wicked.

Chapter Six

Ryan sat on the edge of the stage, swinging his legs from side to side as he waited for everyone to arrive for the Drama meeting. He suspected that everyone was hounding Ms. Darbus for the cast list. She'd promised to post it up that morning, but unfortunately the copy machine as well as the printers in the Mac Lab had been malfunctioning and she didn't want to risk writing out the cast list…her handwriting was nearly indecipherable. She'd made a huge fuss that morning to the principal to get him to have someone fix the machines by free period. She probably wouldn't have succeeded had she not brought up the fact that, had it been the Basketball team needing to put up team try outs or something to that effect, it would be fixed in an instant.

The sudden squeaking of the auditorium doors brought Ryan out of his wandering thoughts as he looked up to see the Wildcats ushering an embarrassed Troy and Chad down the aisle. They were followed by the blushing forms of their two girlfriends who, upon seeing Ryan, grabbed the boys and headed in his direction. He smiled at them and gave a soft wave, scooting over slightly as Chad jumped on stage to sit next to him.

"Hey man," he said, trying…and failing…to do a guy handshake with Ryan.

"Hey," Ryan replied nodding to Troy before turning his attention to the girls, "So did you guys find out what roles you got?"

Gabriella and Taylor nodded enthusiastically, which slightly shocked Ryan, as he'd never pictured Taylor to be the Performing Arts type of girl. "Yeah," Gabriella answered, "I asked Darbus just after homeroom, I'm Galinda!"

Ryan stared at her for only a moment, trying to envision the spunky brunette as a blonde…it didn't work that well…He shook his head and looked at Taylor, she was grinning, "I'm Madame Morrible."

Now that Ryan could see happening. Taylor was very academic and Madame Morrible was the head of a school, it kind of worked. He looked at Troy and Chad, the latter of which seemed a little annoyed, "What about you two?"

Troy shrugged, "I got some guy named Fyro…"

"It's pronounced Fee-yeah-row. Fiyero." Ryan corrected, he and Sharpay had seen Wicked once and fell in love with the songs and the dances immediately. They had the sound track to it and Sharpay even had autographed wicked posters stuck to the walls of her room.

"Well, I got him," Troy said…it was obvious he had no idea who Fiyero was.

"I got some dude Boq," Chad answered.

Ryan smirked slightly, who would have guessed that Chad would get the name. Most people had no idea how to pronounce Boq, for some reason it seemed more difficult to say than Fiyero.

"I'm Nessarose," Kelsi voiced joining the group. She'd decided to tryout, after much goading from Jason, and had been surprisingly good, "What about you Ryan?"

Ryan merely shrugged, "Don't know yet."

The group just stared at him incredulously, "You don't know?" Gabriella asked in shock, she would have expected the Evans twins to have cornered Ms. Darbus in the parking lot as soon as she got there to find out who they were.

"Nope," he answered, shrugging again, "Sharpay's with Ms. Darbus now asking her."

"Oh…" was all Taylor had to say.

"Well…which part do you want?" Kelsi asked, just trying to start a conversation from the silence that had sprung up.

He shrugged for a third time, "I don't really care, maybe Dr. Dillamond or something like that."

That wasn't what he wanted, not really. He'd been hoping for the part of the Wizard of Oz…but if he didn't get it, his next option was Dillamond. But he really wanted the Wizard…he just didn't want to tell them that because he didn't want their pity if he didn't get the part…

That darn squeak just didn't want him to think today did it? The doors to the auditorium opened once again, but this time it was Sharpay who had entered. She was walking briskly down the aisle; the look on her face telling Ryan that the news she had was good. Not many people would notice the hair of a smile that Sharpay had on her face, but he was her brother and he noticed everything…not to mention he was sensing a huge amount of joy resonating from her.

Sharpay passed him up, making a show of rolling her eyes at the small group that had formed around him, and walked purposefully onto the stage. Ryan rolled his eyes at her antics before spinning around to sit on the stage Indian style facing her.

"So what'll it be Shar?" he asked.

She turned around, a playful…well, playful to him…smile on her face. "I'm an artichoke and you're my dim-witted father."

Had he been facing the audience he had no doubt that he would have enjoyed the shocked looks on the faces of his peers as he jumped up punching the air in victory…but he wasn't facing them, so he didn't see. Instead he ran straight at Sharpay and swept her into a sort of fast paced waltz, "I'm the Wizard!?" he shouted, letting her go so that she spun away from him, before breaking out into a stunning a capella version of the Wizard's song 'Wonderful' which left absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind that he was perfect for the part.

As soon as he finished his song, the audience (including Sharpay though no one could see her from off stage) burst into applause. He did a series of bows, making a show of it, before ending it with fake kisses being blown.

"Now that is the kind of energy I am expecting from all of you!" A voice rang out above the cheers. The claps immediately ceased as Ms. Darbus took the stage, Sharpay and Ryan sneaking off to take seats in the front row. "Bravo Ryan," she added after a moment with a smile, before dumping a large amount of papers onto a small table next to her. "These…" she said, staring straight at all the members of her cast, "…are your scripts. I expect you to take care of them as if they were your school text books…that means no using them as a lunch tray Chad Danforth!" she shouted, effectively gaining his attention. "Now…due to certain…inadequacies…of the this school, the copying of the scripts took longer than was expected. So…" she picked up a script and flipped though it, laughing to herself at something written there, before shutting it and returning her attention back to the students, "…you shall be receiving your copies today and shall report here again tomorrow for the rehearsal schedule hand outs."

She stared at them all, just sitting in their seats, "Well?" she asked, "What are you all sitting there for? Come take your scripts!"

With that, all those who were in the cast sprang from their seats and practically ran for the stage in a halfhearted attempt to appease the irate Ms. Darbus.

Ryan laughed as he waited for the mad scramble of students to end before getting up and grabbing the last two scripts for himself and Sharpay. He sat back down beside her, handing her the script, and was about to read his when he heard the chair next to him squeak. He looked over to see Gabriella and the rest of her group sitting down around him.

"So I take it you're excited to be the Wizard?" she asked.

Ryan smiled politely and nodded, he'd wanted to be the Wizard for one reason, and one reason only…the dancing. The Wizard was a quirky guy who danced quite foolishly on stage, but Ryan loved it, now he could finally use the Jazz Squares!

Gabriella laughed, "That's good, for a second there I was worried that you'd be upset for not getting Dillmind."

"It's Dillamond!" Sharpay snapped from the other side of him.

"Oh sorry," Gabriella said, blushing slightly at the snap attack from Sharpay, "Dillamond."

Ryan shook his head, "He was my second choice, I wanted the Wizard and luckily I got it."

Gabriella nodded before turning her attention back to her boyfriend Troy, "So Troy are you excited about the musical?" He nodded his head, she smiled, "I mean, isn't it great how the leads aren't together in this musical? It seems like every musical out there always has the two leads hooking up in the end, but not this one…"

"What are you talking about?" Sharpay asked, her tone of voice clearly implying that Gabriella had said something utterly stupid to her.

"In Wicked," Gabriella started, obviously missing Sharpay's tone, "Fiyero and Glinda end up together. Everyone would expect Elp-aba to…"

"It's El-pha-ba!" Sharpay snapped again. It really irked her when people in a play or musical didn't know how to pronounce the other characters names.

"Sorry," Gabriella repeated making Sharpay want to wring her neck with all her apologizing, "Elphaba…everyone would expect Elphaba and Fiyero to get together in the end, but they don't…Glinda and Fiyero do."

Sharpay and Ryan stared at her, had she never seen Wicked before? Had she even bothered to listen to the soundtrack? They glanced at the others sitting by them, they didn't seem to be bothered by Gabriella's statements…they probably didn't know Wicked either.

"Uh…Gabriella…" Ryan started, unsure of what to say but knowing that he had to say something before Sharpay did, "Fiyero and Elphaba _do _end up together."

Gabriella stared at him for a moment, a confused expression on her face, "What are you talking about Ryan? Fiyero and Glinda are…"

"Have you ever seen Wicked?" Sharpay cut in.

"Well…no," she answered, "But I skimmed the script," she flipped though a few pages to what Ryan could see was the beginning of the second act and suddenly he knew what she was talking about. "See," she pointed to a line Sharpay couldn't see, "It says at Glinda and Fiyero's engagement party…not Elphaba and Fiyero."

She looked up smiling at them, her smile faltering ever so slightly at the look on the twin's faces. "Uh…Gabriella…" Ryan started again, "I think you should read the whole script…"

"Or at least the last page," Sharpay added in, standing up, "Or maybe you should listen to the song 'As Long As You're Mine'…" She fixed her hair slightly before turning and walking away; Ryan was about to say something else when he heard Sharpay shout, "Come on Ryan!" He gave them an apologetic smile, getting up to follow as Gabriella flipped to the last page of the script.

The twins had made it up the aisle and were pushing the doors open when the shout from Gabriella reached them, "Fiyero and Elphaba run off together?!"

IOI

"So does this look good?"

"It looks fine Ryan."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes…"

"You think she'll like it?"

"Ryan," Sharpay laughed grabbing her brother's hands, which were tugging at his clothing in nervousness, "relax! Missy will love whatever you wear, she doesn't care about that sort of stuff."

Ryan sighed, "I know…" he took a deep breath looking at himself in the mirror. He was dressed simply, a red t-shirt with the white East High logo on it and a pair of jeans. It was his usual style when around family and friends, other times he dressed up because he felt like he had people to impress. But…Missy was already impressed with him so he didn't have to worry…right? He looked over to the corner where a coat rack was standing and spotted a red East High baseball cap. He focused on it as it disappeared in a flurry of orbs and appeared on his head. That was what he got for being half whitelighter, telekinetic orbing. Cousin Chris, Henry, and Wyatt could do that as well. It was like Sharpay using her own telekinesis but with orbing. "How about this? Better? Worse?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes, pulling the hat off his head as she laughed She stepped up next to her brother by the mirror, Missy was coming over that night to hang out (cough) date (cough) Ryan and was going to arrive any minute. Ryan had called the living room that morning so that he and Missy could watch some movies and hang out. Right…if watching movies was code for making out. No one would ever think it, looking at Ryan in school, but he was definitely the guy in the relationship. No one thought that he was much of a guy overall, just because he dressed nicely…but he was wicked strong and had a black belt. Well, technically it wasn't a black belt per say…her whole family was good at self defense techniques. Their aunts had learned it the hard way and had made sure to teach their children how to defend themselves. Aunt Phoebe especially knew what she was doing. She'd been studying Martial Arts for years now and was an amazing teacher.

She stared at herself in the mirror as well; she was wearing a simple white tank top with pink stretchy workout pants on and the matching jacket wrapped around her waist. Her hair was held back in a loose ponytail. She smiled at herself; she loved dressing like that more than how she did for school. But people expected a rich, prissy, drama queen, so she gave it to them. Any excuse to keep people away was welcomed.

Her gaze was pulled from herself by a shimmering in the air just behind her. She didn't prepare for the attack because Ryan wasn't. He had inherited their mother's sensing ability like Sharpay had inherited the ability to heal. Ryan could usually tell who was orbing or shimmering in, whether they were friend of foe. She watched calmly as Missy appeared behind them, "Hey Missy," she said staring at her for a moment in the mirror before turning around with Ryan to look at the girl.

Ryan immediately went to her and gave her a welcome kiss and hug. Sharpay's smile grew a little as she watched Missy beam at her brother. She gave Missy the once over noting her causal black skirt and simple baby blue shirt with the word Angel written on it and her…red tipped hair? It wouldn't have bothered Sharpay that Missy had dyed the tips of her hair red…it was just that she could have sworn that when the girl had shimmered in, her tips had been blue. "I thought your tips were blue?" she questioned.

Missy smirked at her, "Yeah…" she trailed, "I goofed a potion last week and it splashed on my hair, it changes color with my emotions."

"Oh…" Sharpay said, that made a lot of sense, Missy wasn't really the kind of person who liked dying her hair…she really didn't like doing anything to her hair. It had taken Sharpay and Mel practically tying her to a chair to get her to cut it. There had been a demon attack last year and Missy had been an easy target having such long hair, her mother felt that she should cut it to shoulder length and had enlisted Mel and Sharpay's help in getting Missy subdued enough to let that happen.

"Yeah…" she sighed, resting her head on Ryan's shoulders as he put his arm around her shoulder, "Mom says it should wear off in a few more days."

Sharpay nodded, looking between the two who were currently staring at each other, and realized that she should probably give them some alone time. "I'll just be leaving now," she said as she walked past them, untying her jacket and putting it on, "I'll be in the park Ryan. Have fun you two!"

She walked out of the house as fast as she could so that they could start their date…but not before catching Ryan's last words, "Oh…we will…"

IOI

Sharpay shook her head in laughter as she walked down the bright path of the park. Ryan and Missy…those two were a match made in heaven. They were so good for each other and complimented each other in ways that Sharpay could only hope for…if she ever did find someone…maybe a witch or another magical being…

'_That might work…_' she thought to herself as she sat down at the base of her favorite oak tree, '_If they are magical…they'd be used to the demon attacks and the dangers…_' She sighed, what was she thinking? The only person she liked was Troy and she refused to put him in danger, besides…he was with Gabriella.

She looked out at the small lake that was in the center of the park. She loved coming to this spot, it made her feel so calm and relaxed. She often came here to meditate and focus her powers. She looked around; there really wasn't anyone there since it was still chilly out. Even the fairies that lived in the small hollow of the tree were asleep from the cold.

She stood up, breathing deep, and began to push and pull the air around her. She really had to thank her uncle for teaching her this, after everything the past week she really needed a good time alone to just reflect and think. The demon attack last week had really shaken her up. She'd kept herself busy for a whole week, rehearsing for the auditions, working out, doing her schoolwork…all in the vain attempt to push the memory of the attack from her mind. It didn't work, as soon as the stress over auditions had ended, the memory forced its way back. She should have known better, it always came back, always.

She sighed, breathing deep, she shouldn't be thinking of this now…right now; all she needed to concentrate on was her breathing. In, out, in, out, in…

"Hey Sharpay!"

Out…she sighed, "What do you want Bolton?"

"Nothing…" he answered dutifully, standing next to her, just watching, "What are you doing?"

"None of your business," she replied, still continuing.

"What is it?" he asked, "Some sort of weird drama thing?"

She nearly growled in frustration, "It's some Tai Chi exercises my uncle Leo taught me…relaxation techniques."

He nodded his head until he realized that she wasn't looking at him. They fell into an uncomfortable silence, Troy's constant shuffling from side to side starting to break through the calm that had finally started to set on Sharpay. "So…" he started, "Where's Ryan?"

"What's it to you?" she asked, still trying to get that sense of calm back…it wasn't working.

"I just…I don't think I've really seen you guys apart a lot…" he answered, "It's a little weird."

Sharpay sighed, finishing up her exercises before turning to face him; "He's at the house…with Missy."

"Ohh," Troy said nodding, "Missy's here?"

Sharpay nodded, "That would be why I said she's at the house."

Troy actually felt himself blush in embarrassment, "Right…"

"Yeah," Sharpay said feeling the uncomfortable silence return.

"How is she here?" Troy asked, feeling slightly stupid for asking, "I mean, doesn't she live in California?"

She gave him a look that he couldn't quite figure out, "Ever heard of frequent flyer miles?" He nodded his head again in embarrassment and looked away from her. She shook her head and looked back at the lake.

"Isn't it difficult for her to fly out here?" he asked, wincing…he just couldn't seem to stop asking dumb questions.

Sharpay rolled her eyes at him, "They're in a long distance relationship Troy," she answered, "Whatever works for them…" she trailed, leaving her words hanging in the silence that once again threatened to consume them.

"So…Missy…" he said, "What kind of a name is that?"

Immediately after that he felt completely stupid, how could he say something like that? Missy was Ryan's girlfriend! He expected Sharpay to smack him or something like that but what she did next was completely odd. She laughed, Sharpay Evans, Ice Queen of East High, actually laughed…and it was quite pretty in his opinion.

"Yeah…it's kind of odd isn't it?" she giggled, "Missy is short for Melissa…but I don't think anyone's called her that since she was like six."

Troy nodded, smiling for the first time since he'd started talking to her, "That's kinda like my mom, I don't think anyone's called her by her name, Victoria, since she was in high school. Everyone calls her Vicky."

Sharpay laughed, "Yeah, kind of."

The silence that fell between the two this time was much more comfortable than before. Sharpay sat back down by the oak tree and stared at the lake, much like Troy was doing as he remained standing.

"So…you excited for the musical?" Troy asked, bobbing back and forth on the heels of his feet, trying to keep his gaze from wandering down to the blonde beside him.

"Are you kidding?" she grinned up at him, fully tearing his gaze away from lake and to her eyes, "Wicked is an amazing musical! I am _so_ excited!"

Troy laughed at her enthusiasm, "Me too," he said grinning down at her, they stared at each other for a moment longer, before she tore her gaze away, snapping him back into reality. "Do you think Missy would come?"

"Of course she will," Sharpay answered, "Why wouldn't she?"

Troy shrugged, "She didn't really seem like a theatre going person to me." He laughed a little, not noticing the lack of commenting that was coming from Sharpay. "She doesn't even seem like Ryan's type…I'm actually surprised you're ok with her dating him…" He was still laughing when he looked back down at Sharpay, but the laughter quickly died at the look she was giving him.

She slowly rose from the ground, a look of complete anger and hatred etched on her face. "Excuse me?!" she practically shouted. He opened his mouth to say something but she just held up a hand silencing, "Ryan's type? You don't know what Ryan's type is! You don't even know Ryan! And Missy? How _dare_ you say that? Do you really think I'm that much of a bitch that I would destroy Ryan's happiness?!"

She was breathing hard now, his words reminded her of that summer when she had gotten into an argument with Gabriella over the Talent Show at Lava Springs. Gabriella had accused her of not caring about Ryan's feelings and she had to admit she had been hurt by the words.

"Do you think that I control his life?!" she resumed shouting, throwing her hands up in the air, "If Missy makes him happy and isn't after him for his power…" she trailed for only a moment, "…fully large wallet, then that's great and I'm happy for him! I know that Missy isn't after him for that, she has her own powerful account too."

She huffed at him, turning to walk away from him for a second before turning back to him and poking him in the chest. "Need I remind you that Missy is my best friend?!" She let out a strangled cry of frustration and stormed off leaving Troy feeling like a piece of dirt under her shoes.

IOI

Sharpay stormed up to her house, turning suddenly as she reached the door to walk back onto her lawn. She paced back and forth for a while, trying to calm down. She wasn't sure whom she was angrier at at the moment, Troy for his idiotic comments. He'd actually been able to carry on a conversation with her that was almost semi normal. Or herself, how could she have let herself get carried away and actually let herself have a conversation with him? That would only encourage him to pursue a friendship with her and that was not something she wanted…ok…she did want it, but she couldn't afford to start one…not now. She breathed in deep, in and out, until she was sure that if she entered the house Ryan wouldn't be able to tell something was wrong. That was one of the perks of his sensing powers. Not only could he tell where she or any of their cousins…or even people he cared for…were, but he could also sense if they were hurt or in danger, and even what they were feeling at times.

One final deep breath and she walked through the door to her house. She slowed as she neared the living room, she couldn't walk too fast or Ryan and Missy might notice that something was wrong. She looked through the open arch that was the living room only to see Ryan and Missy actively engaged in…a game of solitaire?

Sharpay leaned against the archway, "Hey guys," she said, "Have a good time?"

She didn't miss the playful smirks or sly glances they gave each other. "Yup," Ryan said.

"The best," Missy added, smiling at Ryan.

Sharpay rolled her eyes and shook her head at their antics, "Well, I'm gonna go crash up stairs," she said, "Try to behave alright?"

They nodded, not really paying attention to what she was saying. She shrugged and headed to the stairs, hearing a soft thump and barely audible 'Oomph' as she ascended them. She sighed when she made it to the top of the stairs and headed left where her room was located across the hall from her brothers. Her room wasn't like anyone in school would have guessed. They probably thought it was a bright pink with darker pink accents…but it wasn't. It was an average room, light blue walls, red bedspread, posters, desk, and only a few pink things scattered here and there. There was a shelf with a few trophies on it and some pictures of herself and Ryan performing, but other than that, perfectly normal…except for the small end table in the corner of her room.

She headed to the small table, just looking at the contents of it. There were two candles at either end, a tablet with a pentagram carved in it lying in the middle with a small goblet resting on top of it. On one side of the pentagram was a quartz crystal on a sting and on the other a small hand held mirror. Just behind the goblet, in between the two candles was a picture of her whole family. Her mother, her father, her aunts and uncles, her cousins, Aunt Billie, Uncle Ty, Missy, and Uncle Darryl and his family. He and his wife Sheila and their two sons Darryl Jr. and Michael were completely human. Darryl was Andy's best friend and fellow detective and, since Andy's death, had been helping her family keep their secrets underwraps. They were all there, along with her grandfather Victor. He had died a few months after that picture had been taken a few years ago.

She smiled sadly before picking up the mirror and walking back towards her bed. She laid down on it for only a moment before turning on her side when she felt something jump on her bed with her. She looked down at the small white kitten that had cuddled up next to her. "Hey Kit," she said stroaking the cat lightly, getting a purr of contentment. She smiled slightly, her mother had told them about her and her sister's first familiar, a kitten named Kit. She and Ryan had found a cat that had wandered around outside their house with a beautiful collar with just one symbol on the metal tag, their family triquerta. It was enough to convince them that this kitten was their own familiar, which they dutifully named Kit as well.

She sighed, squirming slightly on bed to get comfortable, before holding up the small mirror. "Mirror, mirror, hear my plea, show me what I wish to see."

It was a very stupid poem, but it had been meant for children to use. Her grandfather Victor and her grandmother Patty had divorced when her mother was very young. Victor had gone to one of her great-grandmother Penny's fellow witches and had them bless the mirror so that his daughters could see him whenever they wanted to. Her mother and aunts had never gotten the mirror, Penny hadn't been too fond of Victor and kept him from the girls. After everyone had been born, when Sharpay's family had had to move to Albaquerque for their father, Grandpa Victor had given her and Ryan the mirror so that they could see their family when they wanted to.

She looked at the mirror watchcing as it glowed a soft blue before fading to reveal her Aunt Piper and Uncle Leo eating dinner and laughing with her cousin Mel. The scenes that followed were almost unbearable, her cousins sat with their parents and siblings, hung out with their friends, spent time just cuddling with their fiances, and put their own children to bed…it was hard, to be so far away from the only family she had. It often left her wondering if she should just orb to the Manor and ask Aunt Piper if she could move into Wyatt or Chris's room or something. Ryan would be fine, he had 'friends' here…she didn't, and she never would.

She reached up, wiping a small tear that had fallen from her eye before placing the mirror on her bedside table and telekenetically turning off her lights. It was time to sleep anyway, maybe things would be better in the morning…maybe…

A/N – Kind of a sad ending. I just keep thinking about how far away Sharpay and Ryan are from their family. It's got to be hard considering how close they all are. Anyway…next chapter should have a little scare for Sharpay and Ryan...


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Sharpay was bored…scratch that…she was beyond bored. Mrs. Brennan was droning on and on about some stupid physics thing. They'd been going over the same theory for the last couple of days now and Sharpay wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle another day more of it. She yawned quietly to herself, stretching out her back without really moving so that she wouldn't be caught in Mrs. Brennan's wrath. She looked around at the students in her class, of course there was Taylor and Gabriella sitting next to each other furiously scribbling down each and every word Mrs. Brennan was saying. Across the room was Chad and Troy both talking quietly to themselves, probably about basketball or something like that.

She glared daggers at Troy; it had been about two weeks since she had spoken to him…more like yelled at him…in the park. She'd avoided him and it seemed like he was avoiding her as well, which was fine with her. She still couldn't believe that he could say such things about Missy and Ryan to her! She was Ryan's sister and Missy's best friend, he should have known better!

She sighed, resting her head against her hand and looking down at her almost empty notebook. What was the point of taking notes again if you did it the first time? She shook her head, glancing outside as a thought struck her. She looked around the class, thanking the powers that be that she sat in the back of the class. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes, focusing on her tree in the park. She felt herself rising up, a sort of detached feeling filling her before fading after only a moment. She opened her eyes, smiling slightly as she saw her tree before her, she was in the park.

She loved that power; astral projection was one of her favorites. Even though her body was still back at East High, probably looking as though she'd fallen asleep, her mind and spirit were in the park. She glanced at the hollow in the oak tree to see two small fairies fluttering there, conversing with each other in a language Sharpay could not understand. She smiled full-blown now and took a seat at the base of the tree, leaning back to enjoy the full feel of the sun on her skin. Another great thing about astral projecting was the fact that, no matter how long she remained in the sun, she wouldn't tan or even burn. She breathed in deep and gazed at the lake, no one was in the park since it was early and most people were either in work or in school. It was probably the best five minutes of her life, finally able to just relax and think without Troy coming and interrupting her.

Unfortunately it couldn't last…it never did…another minute had gone by when she heard a voice talking to her…it was Mrs. Brennan! Sharpay's eyes snapped open; she was back in East High in the back of the physics classroom with everyone staring at her as Mrs. Brennan glared.

"Am I boring you Miss Evans?" she asked, holding her physics book to her chest.

Sharpay sat up straighter, "Of course not Mrs. Brennan."

"Really?" the teacher asked, Sharpay nodded, "Then I would like you to repeat what I just said to the class."

She looked around; she could see Chad smirking at her along with half the class…almost the entire class actually…except Troy, who was watching her with concern on his face. Sharpay merely smiled and tilted her head to the side, "Of course Mrs. Brennan. You were saying that, if everyone understood the theory, which I believe you've reviewed to the fullest extent, then we would be working on projects to demonstrate the theory in use." The smirks on everyone's face fell as Mrs. Brennan and Troy started smiling, "You also mentioned that, since there are an odd number of students in your class, one of us would have to work by ourselves. And Mrs. Brennan, I would like to take the time now to ask permission to be that one student."

Mrs. Brennan nodded, "Permission granted," she said, "But do try to keep awake Miss Evans."

Sharpay nodded and went back to making it look like she was taking notes while ignoring the looks of her classmates. They were probably wondering how she'd done that, how she'd known what Mrs. Brennan had said when she had so clearly been 'sleeping'. She shook her head in thought, her spirit might have been at the park, but her body was there. Which meant that her ears were too. While she'd been away, her body had taken in all that was going on around her. She'd heard what Mrs. Brennan was saying even if she hadn't been aware of it at the time.

But she didn't have any more time to contemplate about what the other students were thinking about for the bell had rung signaling the end of class. She walked quickly out of the room, heading towards her locker to stash her books before making her way to the cafeteria for lunch. She looked in her mirror fixing her hair quickly before shutting the locker only to see Ryan standing there. She didn't jump or anything like that, after years of people orbing and shimmering in out of no where she'd learned not to be alarmed by people suddenly appearing.

He eyed her oddly, almost searching her face for something. "So…anything interesting happen during physics?" he asked, a playful smirk on his face.

And then she realized…he knew. She looked down slightly, a very light blush gracing her cheeks, "Not…really…"

He smiled at her, "So then…care to explain why I thought you were at the park when you were also still in the physics room?"

She rolled her eyes and started walking towards the cafeteria, Ryan following behind her, and she knew he was silently laughing at her.

IOI

"…and nobody in all of Oz, no wizard that there is or was, is ever gonna bring me down!"

"I hope you're happy!"

"Look at her she's wicked! Get her!"

"Bring me down!"

"No one mourns the wicked! So we've got to bring her…"

"Ah ah ah ah!"

"Down!!!"

"Bravo!" Ms. Darbus shouted, clapping fervently as the cast struck its final pose. Amazing, it was truly amazing what the talented singers of East High could do. They'd been off book for a few days now and had just performed the first act of Wicked flawlessly for the first time. All the blocking was superb; the notes hit perfectly, the dancing in tempo. They had yet to get the machinery for Elphaba to fly during that song, but Sharpay and Ryan had merely pulled out the ladder from Bop to the Top (minus the garland) and Sharpay climbed it all without missing a beat. "Take five everyone!" she shouted, "You deserve it!"

Sharpay quickly climbed down the ladder, Ryan scooping her up at the last rung and spinning her around before setting her on the ground. He gave her a celebratory hug, it seemed like everyday she got better and better at being Elphaba. The musical was in three weeks, two at the end of that week, but it seemed like the entire cast was almost ready to perform it the next day.

Sharpay walked over to the edge of the stage and plopped down on the ledge, she was breathing slightly heavily from holding out that last note for so long. But her whole body was buzzing with excitement from the performance. It was a great experience. Ryan plopped down beside her, offering her a drink from the water bottle he had just taken a swig from. She gratefully took a sip of water before handing it back to him, a grin still present on her face. Normally she'd be worried about people thinking that she was actually smiling, but since this was a drama event, it was perfectly normal for her to grin.

"Thanks," she said, after she had swallowed the water.

"No prob," Ryan replied, taking another sip, "You did great by the way, amazing!"

Sharpay laughed slightly, shaking her head, "I have no idea what I'm going to do about For Good," she said.

"What do you mean?"

She sighed, "It's just…it's supposed to be a sad song, one with crying and stuff. And, don't get me wrong, I can fake tears like Troy can fake a pass, but I was hoping…since it's senior year and all…to really cry at that song. And…" she looked around at the students, "I don't think I could really cry just because I'm never going to see Gabriella again."

Ryan just laughed at that, "Don't worry Shar, you'll figure out something." He took another sip, "Just pretend you're singing with Prue again or something."

Their cousin Prue was another singer in their family. It seemed that, out of the Halliwell sisters, Prue and Phoebe's children had inherited the artistic talents in the family…well, the performing talents at least. Aunt Paige's twins had inherited their mother's actual artistic talents; Bri preferred painting while Charlot favored sculpting. Aunt Phoebe's children liked the performing arts like Ryan and Sharpay did, though not to the same extent. Prue was the singer, Patty the instrumentalist (she was amazing on the piano and guitar), and Penny was the dancer. Sharpay, Prue, and Ryan had taken a specialized course in Magic School at one point based on Siren spells, spells that were sung and not cast. It was interesting, but Ryan and Sharpay both liked regular chanting, Prue on the other hand had really taken to the class and was currently enrolled in a more challenging version of it.

"I guess that could work…" she said, lost in thought. It might be a little weird though, pretending that a blonde was her brunette cousin…at least it would work during practices.

'_You could always glamour her to look like Prue to you,_' the voice of Ryan said in her head. That was another one of her powers, minor telepathy. Sharpay could move things with her mind as well as read only certain people's minds. The twins could talk to each other whenever they wanted since they were connected. A whitelighter could communicate with their charges by reading their minds, since Ryan was her brother, they could both read each other. Sharpay could also read the rest of her family as well, since they were all related. She imagined that, if she ever happened to get married, she'd forge a bond with her husband that would allow her to read him as well.

'_That might work,_' Sharpay replied, actually considering it. Ryan always was more cautious about using magic…or about her using magic…so if he suggested it, then it was most certainly ok.

Ryan started to laugh and was about to say something out loud when someone else spoke first, "Hey Ryan…Sharpay…" Troy said as he slowly walked towards them. He'd been thinking of what he'd said to Sharpay all the time and it was starting to really get to him. He knew he was a jerk but he just couldn't stand the thought that Sharpay was mad at him. Unbelievably it had actually started to affect his game.

"Hey Troy," Ryan said cheerfully. He could sense that Sharpay wasn't going to answer, he knew something about Troy was bugging her and saw this as the perfect opportunity for them to work it out. "I'm uh…gonna go talk to Darbus about Wonderful, I think I can get her to work in the Jazz Squares."

He walked off before Sharpay could even open her mouth to reply. Now she was stuck with Troy.

"Sharpay…Can I talk to you?" he asked, wringing his hands before him.

She huffed and crossed her arms, but gave him a look as to say 'I'm listening'. He smiled slightly at that before taking a breath, "Ok…so…um…" the words escaped him. Here he was, standing before Sharpay 'Ice Queen' Evans, trying to apologize for being a jerk and he couldn't even get the words out! "What I'm trying to say is…uh…I was…"

"Spit it out Bolton!" she shouted, glaring at him.

He sighed, "I just…wanted to say that…I'm sor…OW!" he shouted, looking down. Something had just stabbed him in the leg…something with sharp claws…something like a…cat? What was a cat doing here? He reached down to grab it but it bolted from his hands and sped up the aisles.

"Kit?" Sharpay whispered, but Troy didn't hear it as a group of girls up seated a little ways up the aisle screamed and scampered away from the feline. Chad and a few other guys tried to catch the cat, but it merely raced down the aisle, past Troy, and onto the stage where more students tried to catch it. Troy raced up as well, trying in vain to catch the manic cat. It had managed to elude the various students chasing after it while not completely destroying the set that had partially been built.

The cat raced around in a final circle before jumping into the unsuspecting arms of Ryan Evans as he stepped through the side stage door. If he was shocked by the sudden ball of white fluff that had leapt at him, he was even more surprised by the gaggle of students that almost barreled into him. They skidded to a halt only a foot away from crashing into him. He looked at them oddly before looking down at the cat, "Kit?" he asked.

"Man, is that your cat?" Chad asked as the group dispersed, he, Taylor, Gabriella and Troy still standing around him.

Ryan nodded dumbly, still staring at the cat.

"Awww…she's so cute," she said, reaching out to pet the kitten. As she finished stroking her, she looked a the collar noticing the odd symbol engraved in the metal, "That's an interesting design."

Just then a loud sneeze filled the auditorium, "Is there a cat in here?!" she shouted, before rounding on Ryan, who had handed the kitten to Sharpay as she walked to his side.

"Uh, yes Ms. Darbus," he replied, "This it Kit…our family…cat…" he trailed off as if something had just occurred to him. It must have occurred to Sharpay as well because they both looked at each other, a fearful expression on their faces, one that the small group duly noted.

What was Kit doing here? Why was she here? Kit rarely ever left the house unless…unless something was wrong! They looked back up at Ms. Darbus about to ask her if they could leave early, only to see her holding her nose and waving her hand at them, "Well, get it out of here!" she shouted, "Take her home or something, you're done for the day anyway."

Ryan nodded before pulling Sharpay out into the hallway. The gang stared at each other for a moment before going after the two. They really looked scared just then and they wanted to make sure everything was ok…well, at least see if Ryan was ok. They pushed open the doors to the hallway, but didn't see anyone there. How did the two make it out of the building so fast? They walked down the hall, opening the door and looking out at the cars lined up just outside the door. Their gaze immediately fell on the bright pink one.

"It might not be theirs," Gabriella said after a moment trying to explain more to herself than to the others how the twins had just disappeared.

"I don't think so," Chad said pointing to the license plate, "Unless there's someone else in this school who would want their license plate to read 'FABULUS'."

They stared at the parked car, wondering where the Evans' disappeared…

IOI

"Dad!" Sharpay called as she and Ryan orbed into the middle of their now destroyed living room.

"Mom?" Ryan he shouted surveying the mess.

Sharpay looked at him, worry and fear in her eyes, for only a moment before Kit jumped out of her arms, drawing her attention to the feline. Kit ran out of the room and the twins immediately knew to follow. They rushed out of the room, down the hall, and up the stairs ignoring the broken picture frames that still managed to hang from the walls. They turned right at the top of the stairs, heading for their parents room at the end of the hall.

They slowed as Kit squeezed her way past the partially open door, fearing what they might hear.

"Ow," a male voice said, "Ow!"

"It'll be easier to heal if you quit moving," the voice of their mother chastised.

They sighed in relief and pushed the door open to see their father, still in his business suit sitting on the edge of the bed, their mother kneeling behind her, a soft glowing coming from her hands which were placed at the back of his neck and head.

"Mom!" Sharpay shouted, running into the room and hugging her mother just as she finished her work.

"Dad!" Ryan said, mirroring Sharpay's actions with their father.

"Hey kids…"Jake said, returning the hug his son was giving him. He was an older man, his hair graying slightly, but not taking away from his handsome features. Their aunt Judy, his own twin, was starting to gray too…though she'd never admit it. She had been at Lava Springs that summer to spend some quality time with her brother and his children.

"What are you doing here?" their mother asked, slightly out of breath from the bear hug her daughter currently held her in. "I thought you had rehearsals today?"

Sharpay nodded into her mother's chest, still unwilling to let go of her. Her mother was nearly her size, her black hair standing out among the three blondes beside her. She looked up to see her brother's own silvery blue eyes staring back at her. She loved her parents very much and was always worried about them, that they may become too old or slow to stop the next demon attack.

Demon attack!

She turned to look at her father, "What happened?" she asked, completely ignoring her mother's previous question.

Her father sighed, "I was in a meeting with a some men about possibly building another Lava Springs resort. As it turns out, that they were demons in disguise and attacked me."

"Are you alright?" Ryan asked, taking a step away from his father to look him over.

"I'm fine," he stressed, motioning for Ryan to sit back down, "Anyway, I managed to vanquish them but it was a tough battle and I got a little dinged up."

"A little dinged up?" Prue questioned, standing with her arms crossed before her, "A little dinged up! Let me tell you what a little dinged up is, a little dinged up is a cut here and there, maybe some bruises, possibly a concussion…you were…"

"Prue!" he hissed, nodding towards Ryan who had gone slightly pale in anticipation of what she was about to say and Sharpay, who now had tears pooling in her eyes.

Prue sighed, "You were…a little more than dinged up," she turned to face her children, moving to sit in between them, an arm around each of them, "But nothing I couldn't fix."

Sharpay launched herself out of her seat and into her father's lap, hugging him for all he was worth, crying. He hugged her, rocking her back and forth, a stern look directed at Prue, but soft words meant for Sharpay. "Hey, hey, I'm fine Paypay," he whispered, "Look, I'm fine. You're mother did a great job, I'm just like new."

His words started to have the desired effect as Sharpay started to calm down slightly. Ryan turned to his mother, "A demon attack? Over building another Lava Springs?" It sounded odd to him, why would the underworld be so concerned about them building a country club?

Prue sighed, "You father wants to build one in San Francisco," she answered, effectively getting Sharpay's attention as well, "The demons don't want you to be that close to your cousins, for me to be that close to my sisters. They don't want the Charmed power to be together again."

A.N – Soo…I decided, imagine that the woman from HSM2, their 'mother' was really their Aunt Judy :) I may not be able to update in the next few days, just a warning. But expect one sometime next week!


	9. Chapter Eight

A/N - OMG!!!!! I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Sorry for not updating these stories!!!!! I started college a few days after I last updated and things have been more than crazy. I'm taking 20 credits (5 super work filled classes) and 3 of them I hate, 1 has a professor who's idea of a short paper (which he assigns every week) is 6 pages long, and one where I have to read and write about a whole shakespeare play...thank god for sparknotes...

Anyway, I'm soooooooo sorry, I'll try to update the stories alot more, but finals are in two weeks so there may not be much, but there will be something at least once a week till winter break. I had seriously no time to even write these chapters till thanksgiving break and I didn't even get a chance to edit and post this till today, and only because my class was cancelled. But...I was always thinking about them, and I've even got some more ideas for Troypay stories :)

Chapter Eight

Sharpay huffed as she and Ryan made their way across the parking lot of East High. She couldn't believe the stupdity of most demons, attacking her father? Over a country club?! She and Ryan had already applied and been accepted to San Fransisco State University and, while their father still owned the club, their parents would have still bee living in Albaquerque.

If anyone should have been attacked it should have been her and Ryan, they would be the ones definitely going back to California. Their mother wasn't even really a Charmed One anymore. Well…of course she was, once a Charmed One always a Charmed One, but she didn't have their powers. If the Charmed power was to be whole again, it would be through Ryan and Sharpay, not their parents. It really had been pointless for the demons to attack.

But then again, pointless attacks were something that their whole family had gotten used to over the years.

She sighed as Ryan pulled open the doors to East High for her, allowing her to step through before following after her. She had to stop thinking about it, it wouldn't do her anything except getting her frustrated.

Unfortunately it seemed like her fate for the day was to become frustrated.

"Hey look!" Chad shouted as she and Ryan passed by the basketball team, "It's the Wicked Witch of the East…High!"

The team burst out in laughter as Sharpay merely rolled her eyes, she spun on her heel to face them, "Look Afro Head, I thought we already had this discussion. If you want to insult us, get your facts straight! I'm Elphaba, the wicked witch of the WEST, not the east. That would be Kelsi over there." She pointed to Kelsi who was standing next to Jason and blushing at the attention now focused on her.

Chad looked slightly embarassed for a moment before an arrogant smirk made its way onto his face, "Yeah, well you're still a witch!"

Sharpay opened her mouth to say something when Ryan beat her to it, "Enough Chad!" he shouted, surprising almost everyone in the hall…it was one thing for Sharpay to be shouting, but Ryan? They didn't think they'd ever heard him even raise his voice before.

Sharpay stared at him, not as shocked as the others, she knew Ryan was really tense today. She and Ryan had stayed up all last night just talking. Whenever she and Ryan were in a demon fight, Sharpay always had nightmares. Whenever their parents were attacked, it was Ryan's turn to be scared. He'd orbed into her room last night to find her sitting on her bed, a tray of hot chocolate lying before her. It was part of a system that they'd worked out over the years. If Sharpay had a nightmare, Ryan always ended up sleeping lighter than normal, almost as if his sister's fear kept him more aware so that he could wake up and comfort her. If Ryan felt angry and scared he'd orb to Sharpay's room and they'd talk and drink hot chocolate (something that helped calm them both down) and just keep each other company.

Last night had been one of those nights. They'd talked about everything, how scared they'd both been when they realized why Kit was at school, how relieved they were that their parents were ok, how angry they were at the demonic world for threatening their family. They talked of how thankful they were for their powers and the family they'd been blessed with, of their hopes for college next year and the prospect of rejoining their family in San Fransisco. They even talked about school the next day and what they expected it to be like.

They'd talked to the wee hours of the morning and had barely gotten any sleep. Anyone who knew Ryan…which at this place seemed to be only Sharpay…knew that he got very testy when he hadn't slept well. She fully expected him to blow up at someone, but she hadn't expected it to be so soon…but then again…this was Chad.

"No, it's ok Ryan," Sharpay said with a smirk on her face before turning her attention to Chad, "I am a witch and damn proud of it!"

And with that, she turned around and strutted down the hall, Ryan rushing after her. "Shar…" he drew out as he came up next to her. She only shook her head and smiled at him. No one would know she was telling the truth with that statement.

IOI

Shapay shut her locker after checking one final thing for rehersals. They were currently on break and Sharpay was checking the script for one last time before she headed back to the auditorium. They were doing the second act today and they had stopped just before 'As Long As You're Mine', Darbus wanted to talk to Gabriella about her last few lines. It was when Fiyero breaks off his engagement with Glinda and rushes off with Elphaba, the Wizard and Madame Morrible were plotting on how to draw Elphaba out and Glinda comes up with a foul plot…but Gabriella didn't sound heart broken like Glinda was supposed to be, she was just monotoned.

Her thoughts were drawn from the musical when she caught sight of Troy walking towards her down the empty hallway. She sighed, she knew why he was there. He'd been trying to talk to her all day, but always seemed to loose the nerve to actually talk when he faced her. She knew he was trying to apologize and…she guessed she could at least listen to him.

"H…hey Sharpay," he said waving slightly as he walked up to her.

"Bolton," she replied…who said she'd make it easy for him?

He took a deep breath, "Ok…look…I…I…uh…" he looked around appearing to be very annoyed and disappointed in himself, "Ijustwantedtoapologize."

"Come again?" she asked, for he had said that very fast.

"I just wanted to apologize," he repeated much slower, "For what I said about Missy and Ryan. I was a jerk and it was completely uncalled for. You're right, I don't know Ryan and I don't know Missy…it wasn't my place to say anything."

She stared at him through slightly narrowed eyes, taking a small amount of pleasure in the way he started fidgeting before softening her face…slightly… "Apology accepted." She said as she started walking down the hall. Troy followed her, wringing his hands as if he had something more to say, "Anything else?" she asked, coming to a stop.

He sighed, "Can we be friends?" Sharpay blinked in shocke, where the hell had that come from? "Like we used to?" he continued, "I mean, we used to hang out so much when we were younger but then we just…stopped…I really just want us to be friends again…" she was about to refuse him until she made the mistake of looking at him. He had just a hopeful and yet fearful expression on his face, his ocean blue eyes reflecting the sincerity of his words, "…please?"

She sighed as well, there would be no escaping this, "Fine…"

She started walking again, Troy following after her, "Great!" he shouted, making her stop and turn to face him, "I…I mean…cool," he tried covering. She turned around and he ran a hand through his hair, walking along side her once again. "Hey Sharpay?" he asked, finally getting over his fear of speaking to her, "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did Bolton," she replied, afterall, who said they had to be best friends?

"Right…" he trailed before bouncing back, "Do you…believe in soulmates?"

She stopped dead, "What?" she asked, "Where did that come from?"

He ran another hand through his hair, "It's just…Gabriella keeps talking about soulmates…you know, people who are destined…"

"I know what soulmates are," she nearly snapped.

"…and I just don't think they're real…do you?" he asked, staring at her. She gave him a look as if he were crazy. He probably was, he realized, what a stupid thing to sa…

"Of course they're real," she answered. She knew for a fact that soulmates did exist, her aunts and mother had each found theirs. And it wasn't even that she thought her uncles and father were perfect for her aunts and mother or anything like that, she knew for a fact because her uncle Coop had told her so.

Her Uncle Coop was a cupid, a being who's powers revolved around helping people find love, to find the ones they are destined to be with. He had found his own in her aunt Phoebe, and had even told Sharpay that her mother and aunts had found theirs on their own. Uncle Coop knew everything there was to know about love and all things to do with it. Soulmates did exist and her aunts were proof.

"How do you know?" he asked. Sharpay had answered so readily with so much convictioon that he had to wonder how she could be so sure.

She shrugged and resumed her walk, "Woman's intuition."

Troy let out a small laugh and followed her, "Do you think Gabriella and I are soulmates?" he asked, flooring her.

She kept walking, she couldn't let him know what she thought of his precious Gabriella. Something about the girl just didn't sit right with her. She merely shrugged again and walked into the auditorium without another word to him.

IOI

Sharpay paced by the foot of her bed for what must have been the hundreth time, Troy's words from that afternoon still echoing in her head, 'do you believe in soulmates?'. God! He just had to ask that question right? Now all she could think about was soulmates and whether or not Troy and Gabriella were each others.

She knew that her friendship with Troy would definitely put a strain on Troy and Gabriella's relationship…even if Gabriella didn't let on about it. If Gabriella and Troy really were soulmates, then there was no way that she was going to stand in the way of that. If they were destined to be together, she didn't want to make it harder for them to do so. Her aunt Piper and uncle Leo were soulmates but their relationship was completely forbidden at the time and they had so many struggles and ordeals to survive before they could finally be together. She knew that that happened quite often with most soulmates, they always had struggles to get through in order to be together. She didn't want to be another struggle for Troy and Gabriella to get through.

She sighed, flopping down on her bed, but what if they weren't? What if her friendship with Troy was just another nail in ending a relationship what was never going to work out? What if Troy had a soulmate out there that he hadn't met yet? Her friendship with Troy now wouldn't matter later when he did meet his soulmate.

She groaned, these conflicting thoughts were pointless. There was no way that she could ever find out whether or not Troy and Gabriella were soulmates…or was there? Sure, she couldn't ask uncle Coop about it, revealing information about other 'clients' of his was against the rules…which basically meant anything that involved others that weren't in the family was out of the question. But…she was a witch after all…she could always cast a spell…but should she?

She quickly got up off the bed and made her way towards her small alter in the corner, kneeling down before opening a small drawer that was just under the white cloth draped over the alter and rummaged through it. She pulled out five small white voltive candles and a lighter. She turned aorund, walking to the center of the room and placing the candles in a circle. She lit them and took a step back. "Hear these words, hear my cry, spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee, cross now the great divide."

As soon as she had finished reciting the chant a shower of sparkles appeared before her and the transparent form of her grandfather smiled at her, "Hello Blondie," he said, using his old nickname for her.

She smiled softly at him, "Hey Grandpa."

His smile faded slightly as he looked at his granddaughter, "What's wrong?"

She sighed, "I'm thinking about casting a spell…" she trailed looking up at him. He gave her an expectant look, he always was the only one to let her finish talking before putting his opinion in, "…a spell that will let me see who people's soulmates are."

"What brought up this sudden decision?" he asked.

"This kid at my school was asking me about it and it really got me thinking…" and so she spilled her thoughts to the one person she always felt would listen to her. She told him everything, from Troy wanting to be friends, to his dating Gabriella, even how she felt about him…which she was sure not even Ryan knew about.

"Well it seems to me Blondie," he said, chuckling slightly at the name, he hadn't been able to cal her that in a while, "…that you should do it."

"Really?" she asked, her grandfather wasn't too fond of her mother and aunts using magic, he always thought it would put them in more danger.

He nodded, "You know what you're doing, you've thought about this, and you know how to word it to avoid that whole 'personal gain' thing."

She smiled, at least she'd have one person on her side if anyone found out about this, "Thanks Grandpa."

"You're welcome Blondie," he looked up for a moment, before looking back at her, "I gotta go, I love you."

She nodded, "You too." And watched as he disappeared, her candles blowing out as the spell ended.

She bent down, collecting the candles and headed back to her alter. She sat down, breathing deep and focusing her mind on what she was about to do. She opened the draw again, placing back the candles and pulled out a pad of paper, and a pen. She lit one of the candles that decorated the alter and immediatley got to writing her spell.

A few minutes later she re-read through the short chant one more time making sure the wording was right. Her aunts had warned her and her cousins numerous times about the dangers of using magic for personal gain. It always backfired. But this wasn't for personal gain, she was worried about others and how her actions might affect them.

She took a deep breath before starting her spell, "I call upon the Power of Three, and cast this spell so I may see, all the matches blessed by fate, help me see the perfect mates, from now until the spell is done, 24 hours from whence it begun." She held out the small piece of paper to the candle and lit the corner on fire. She held it for a moment, watching the flames consume the paper, until it almost reached her fingers. She dropped it into the goblet before her and watched as smoke rose from it. Slowly, the smoke dispersed and the only thing left of her spell was the ashes lying at the bottom of her goblet.

Suddenly there was a knock on her door and it opened to reveal Ryan standing there, "Hey Shar," he said as she turned to face him, "Mom ordered a pizza for dinner."

She stared…just stared at him…she couldn't believe it! Well, yes she could, she was a witch, of course her spells would work. There, floating above her brother's head, was a semi-transparent image of Missy...she knew it!

"Shar?" Ryan asked, drawing her attention back to his face, "You ok?"

She nodded, "Yeah…uh…I'll be down in a minute."

Ryan nodded as well and shut her door once more leaving her to her thoughts.

IOI

The next morning would find Sharpay walking through the halls of East High with Ryan, trying to discretely look at the heads of those that passed her. She was slightly surprised to see that Kelsi had a picture of Jason above her head and he a picture of her. Well…she wasn't all that surprised, Kelsi and Jason were perfect for each other. She was more surprised to see that Chad and Taylor each had the other's picture above their heads as well.

She had just gotten to her locker when she saw Gabriella talking with Taylor. She didn't know whether she felt happy or sad that the person in the picture above Gabriella's head wasn't Troy but a person she'd never seen before. She was happy because that meant that she didn't have to feel guilty about straining their relationship…but she felt sad because she knew that despite people not being soulmates, it didn't stop them from falling in love with other people. She knew Troy really cared for Gabriella, they both appeared to be very much in love, and they'd probably be heartbroken when they broke up…if they ever broke up. Not everyone found their soulmate, she knew, some only found those that were close but not exact. It was entirely possible for Troy and Gabriella to stay together despite the fact that weren't soulmates…but that left her wondering…who was Troy's?

Just then, the object of her thoughts walked through the doors. She stared at him as he walked closer and closer to her while she stood at her locker. Her mouth nearly dropped open when he got close enough for her to see the figure above his head. She clamped her mouth shut and slammed the locker shut before rushing off down the hall to homeroom, completely ignoring Troy's greeting.

This couldn't be happening! It just couldn't! It wasn't possible, not at all. How? The spell had to be wrong. It had to be flawed somehow. It just had to be! How was that his true soulmate? How!? It didn't seem possible…how could the person he was destined to be with…be herself?

IOI

Sharpay walked quickly to the auditorium as soon as she and Ryan orbed back to the school from Magic School. She had been avoiding Troy all day, screw being his friend. She just couldn't deal with him now. She couldn't…she wouldn't…she refused to let Troy get any closer to her than he was. She couldn't let him realize how well they'd work together. From now on, the only interaction she could have with Troy would be for the play.

"Hello! Good afternoon my wonderful cast," Ms. Darbus said as everyone took their seats in the theatre. Sharpay sent a smile, faker than counterfit money, at her favorite teacher as she spoke. "I have a surprise for all of you hard workers, if you would all please pay attention. Now, as we are preforming the highly acclaimed musical Wicked, I have also been able to secure a trip to Los Angeles, California, to see an actual broadway performance of it!" The students started shouting as she and Ryan looked at each other, "We shall leave next Friday, the beginning of the four day weekend," Ms. Darbus continued, "And shall arrive in Los Angles, we spend Saturday there to see the show before heading to San Fransisco on Sunday to my alma mater, the American Conservatory Theater before returning home on Monday."

Sharpay and Ryan stared at Ms. Darbus in shock. They'd be going to San Francisco too?! They looked at each other; they'd get to visit their family!

A/N – Yay!


	10. ALERT

Hello,

First off...I'm not pottergrl15...I'm her older sister. She asked me to post a small note for all her readers out there. She's in the hospital. She's fine now, but she was in a small car accident around new years and her leg got badly injured, mostly her knee. She's still in the hospital and will probably be there for the next week or two. Our parents refuse to let her have her laptop to write on so she's pretty mad that she can't work on her fanfictions. But I managed to sneak her a notebook to jot stuff down in and she said for me to tell you that she has a lot of ideas for her stories and stuff.

Anyway, she wanted me to tell you all that she'll be back on soon and to expect a ton of updates when she does.


	11. Chapter Nine finally

Chapter Nine

It was finally Friday! It had been a week since Ms. Darbus made the announcement of the cast trip to California and was now the first day of the four day weekend. Everyone on the bus was so excited as they sat talking with their friends and girl friends. They'd left a couple hours ago, around 10 and were expected to drive straight to Los Angeles, stopping only once for lunch, and arriving around 10:30-11 that night. The excited chattering of the students was almost incomprehensible as everyone's discussions blended into one. Everyone's energy could be felt…everyone except two.

Ryan Evans sat silently, oblvious to the world around him as he stared at his sister. Sharpay, sitting in the window seat, had her head resting against the window as she stared at the passing scenery. It just had to happen again hadn't it?

That morning, she and Ryan had bid goodbye to their parents, their father was called into the office early and their mother had been called 'up there'. The elders had been tense the last few days, constantly calling their mother up there to talk about something. Their parents had left at 8, which gave the twins an hour before they had to arrive at the school. They had just been sitting around the kitchen table eating breakfast, it was Sharpay's turn to cook and she had made pancakes. Ryan had been reaching for his second helping when suddenly a demon had shimmered in and blasted him into the wall behind him. Shapay had fallen off her chair, spinning to telekinetically throw the demon across the room before shimmying to Ryan's side. She reached out and healed the small wound in his back from where he'd hit the glass picture frame on the wall. The demon had gotten up the same time as the twins and had run at them. Ryan held out his hand and the demon froze…litterally froze. Ice formed around him, sticking out behind him from the force of his run. Sharpay immediately flung her arm out and sent the demon flying into another wall, much like the demon had done to Ryan, the only difference was…upon hitting the wall, he shattered into a million pieces before those pieces burst into small flames and disappeared.

Sharpay managed to handle herself well after that, she hadn't even allowed herself to really take in what had happened. They had to leave soon and she couldn't afford East High seeing her with tears in her eyes. She'd simply gone to East High with Ryan, thrown her suitcase to the bus driver who was packing the bags below, and stomped up the steps to pick a seat. Of couse, like everyone expected, she'd sat near the front, but that wasn't the reason why she'd sat there. If she was near the front, then everyone was behind her, and they wouldn't be able to see her face…or her for that matter.

Ryan sighed as he watched Sharpay. He'd talked her into trying to sleep on the bus, usually the first night after a demon attack (if she hadn't worked herself to exhaustion) would lead to a nightmare. Darbus, unfortunately, refused to let boys room with girls, even if they were siblings, so that meant tonight Sharpay would be stuck in a room with Gabriella, Taylor, and Kelsi. If she could fall asleep on the bus, then maybe she'd have her nightmare now, and he could wake her up. There was so much noise in the bus that he doubted many people would hear Sharpay muttering in her sleep as she was customed to do during nightmares.

She hadn't been able to fall asleep though, the ride was too bumpy for her to even rest her head against the seat. Ryan knew something was bothering her, she was very pale and shaking slighty…though he wasn't sure if it was just the shaking of the bus or her. He knew what she was thinking, he didn't even have to read her mind he knew her that well. She was remembering when the demon had attacked them at the Manor that one time. For some reason, demons just liked throwing him into walls.

He shook his head, this was bad. This was really bad. If Sharpay didn't sleep soon, she'd definitely have a nightmare tonight…unless she tried to stay awake. Sometimes she'd push herself to exhaustion and fall into a dreamless sleep. But then, the dreams would always find their way back to her and he'd never know when. Most of the time, he'd stay up later or sleep lighter to try and wake her out of whatever nightmare she was in faster. But when she stayed up he never knew when, so he'd end up doing that until she woke him screaming.

What was worse was that she'd be stuck with Taylor, Kelsi, and Gabriella tonight…so if she had a nightmare…he wouldn't be there…he wouldn't know. He prayed that she'd be ok, that just this once she wouldn't have a nightmare. Maybe her subconscious would feel that she couldn't have a nightmare tonight and she wouldn't till they got home.

He sighed, who was he kidding? Her nightmares worked like clockwork, you could almost set your watch to them…almost. If he could, he probably would get twice as much sleep. But it was a small price to pay, espeicially when it meant protecting Shar.

He glanced around the bus, taking in all his classmates just sitting there enjoying their ride. He caught a glimpse of Chad pointing at him with a look that screamed 'man I feel sorry for you'. He turned around, his attitude sufficiently downed. Who did Chad think he was to feel sorry for him? What was there to feel sorry about? Because Sharpay was his sister? Because he looked out for her? He obviously knew nothing about them, nothing.

He hated it when the school would poke fun at Shar, calling her Ice Queen without any thought to how that made her feel. It was horrible! Not even demons were that hurtful, they just threw fireballs at you and tried to kill you. They honestly had no idea how they hurt Sharay like that. She really wasn't an Ice Queen. Sure, she may act like that at times, but she had a good reason…well…she had a reason. He didn't fully agree with her on her 'never getting married' speal, but that was her business. He could only hope that one day she'd meet someone that would make her reconsider that.

Why was he even thinking of Sharpay getting married? He should be thinking of how they would get through the night. Maybe he could wait till the guys and girls fell asleep and orb into the room to keep an eye on her…no…that wouldn't work. If one of them woke up and saw him gone or saw him there... Oh! He could cast an invisibility charm on himself…no…if he forgot he was invisible he could really freak out the gang and that would be bad. He couldn't exactly ask Sharpay to keep awake tonight…that would be bad considering everything that Darbus had planned for tomorrow.

He looked over at Sharpay again, she was really pale and had a distant look in her eye like she was trying not to think about something that bothered her. She must have sensed him looking because she turned her head to look back at him. She gave him a soft smile, trying to tell him that everything would be fine, but he knew it wouldn't. He carefully put his arm around her, letting her lean against him as the bus continued to rattle on.

IOI

Kelsi was worried…well, more than worried actually. Sharpay had been acting really weird all day. Really quiet and withdrawn which was completely unlike her. Sure, she had seen Sharpay act like this a few times, but never like this. Usually she'd make an effort to be more talkative even when something was bothering her. But now…well, now she was sleeping, rolled over on her side of the bed that she and Sharpay would be sharing. That was also unlike Sharpay, usually she hogged the bed, but this time she was curled in a little ball on the edge of it. Even more…she could swear Sharpay was shaking slightly.

Gabriella and Taylor were oblivious to this fact as the three of them sat on their bed talking about the college that Ms. Darbus was taking them to tomorrow. But Kelsi couldn't ignore the fact that something wasn't right. Sure, Sharpay could be a grade A bitch but if something was wrong, Kelsi couldn't help but want to make sure things were at least ok. She was about to get up and go shake Sharpay awake and talk to her when Sharpay suddenly started fidgeting in bed, murmuring incoherent things…the most Kelsi could make out was Ryan.

She looked over at Gabriella and Taylor who were finally aware of what was happening with Sharpay. "Maybe I should go get Ryan," Taylor muttered, before quickly hopping off the bed and rushing out of the room and down the hall.

Just as she left the room, Sharpay really started to thraash around, her mutterings turning into stifled yells. Whatever she was dreaming about was really starting to scare her and freak out the rest of them. Kesli made her way over to the edge of the bed, reaching out to check on her when Sharpay let out a scream…

IOI

Something was wrong, of this Troy was certain. He and Chad and Zeke were currently sitting on the beds just watching Ryan pace back and forth across the room. Over and over again, so much that they were sure he'd wear a hole in the carpet before the night was over. Whatever was bugging him, was bugging him bad but none of them had the guts to ask what it was. Ryan didn't seem like a formidible guy, but watching him walking there, a fist clentched to his mouth was something else. He looked…angry…and scared…but the look on his face was so dark that they could almost guess that anyone who so much as interrupted his musings would end up through a wall or something.

Thankfully though, none of them had to pull him out of his suptor, because right then there was a knock on the door. Before any of them could even move off the bed to answer it, Ryan was there opening the door to reveal a very worried Taylor standing there. "Ryan, I think something's wro…"

She couldn't finish her sentence as a loud scream resonated from down the hall. Ryan took off in a flash before it could even register with the others that the scream sounded a good deal like Sharpay.

"RYAN!" quickly followed the scream, driving him to run all the more fast towards the room at the end of the hallway. Thankfully Taylor left the door wide open when she left which allowed Ryan to run right in and over to Sharpay, flying past a scared looking Gabriella and Kelsi.

"Shar!" he shouted as he gathered her frightened form into a hug, "Shhh…" he whispered as she started her apologetic mutterings. How she could still think that every demon attack was her fault was beyond him. "Shhh…it's ok Shar. It's ok. Everything's fine…" he hugged her closer to himself, "I'm here…it's ok…"

He glanced up at the group that was now present in the room. Zeke and Chad wore matching confused expressions, while Troy watched with worry etched in his face. The girls were standing close together with tears in their eyes, they had never seen Sharpay act like that and he could bet that they were slighlty scared of what was happening. But he didn't have any time to think on that now, he just had to concentrate on calming down Sharpay.

A/N – I cannot apologize enough for making you all wait this long for an update. It's completely unexcusable. I always hate reading good fanfics and then no one updates them in forever so I am soooooo mad at myself for not updating these as often as I'd like others to do. I just have to say, I'm alive lol. Props to my sis for posting the note for everyone. I was out for a while with no access to my computer. When I finally was free, I missed a lot of work. I was taking two extra classes than I should have this semester and the work just piled on. Finals just finished a few days ago so I'm going to be writing like crazy to try to finish up all my started stories by the end of the month. Hope I can. Expect an update daily...And, again, SOOOOOOOOOO sorry I didn't update, I apologize again :(


	12. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Ryan sighed as he walked beside Sharpay who, for once, was walking in the back of the group. She hadn't said a word to anyone even him all day but she had a good reason. The other night she had had a nightmare infront of the gang and felt so embarassed that she had. She never wanted people to see her weak and that's what she felt they saw her as now. But she was wrong, he could tell that they actually saw her as a human which was a massive step up from what they saw her as before. But she still refused to talk to them at all yesterday at the college. She was stressed enough already worrying about what they thought of her and to add to that, last night, there had been another demon attack…well…not really an attack. He had sensed a demon lurking around the hotel last night and they had both snuck out to investigate but had come up with nothing. Whatever demon was there, was gone.

That didn't stop Sharpay from worrying though. She had fretted all night to him until Ms. Darbus had to come down to the lobby and tell them that curfew had been up an hour ago. He doubted she'd gotten much sleep either. He knew he hadn't…but it was even more dangerous for Sharpay to skip sleep. He could do it…she couldn't. Not that that wouldn't stop her from trying.

Sometimes it just made him so mad, that she never seemed to take herself into consideration. She always worried about everyone else instead of herself and that wasn't healthy, especially not in their lives. Sometimes, he thought that she didn't realize just how important she was to everyone, how everyone would take it if something really bad were to happen to her. She just took soooo much looking after, but he loved her.

Right now though, he was worried. Darbus had gotten them up bright and early this morning for some reason. He didn't know why because today was supposed to be the day that they could do anything they wanted which should have meant sleeping late. And now they were standing in the early morning sun, right at the bottom of one of the bigger hill in San Fransisco. He looked nervously over at Sharpay, even she was looking at the hill with an anxious expression. This couldn't be good.

"Now, class," Ms. Darbus said, turning from looking at the hill to look at her students, all of whom were dreading what she was going to say next, "There is one thing left for us to do." She glanced at the hill, "As soon as we reach the top of this hill we will be in the heart of San Fransiscian culture…" the class groaned, "…and then you will be free to go about your business as you wish…" The class started to cheer but was quickly cut off by Darbus' infamous, "Was that a cell phone!?"

"Uh, no Ms. Darbus," Kelsi said softly, "That was a car horn."

"Oh…well…let's be off then," she said, flipping her shawl over her shoulder and setting off up the hill.

Ryan sighed and turned to face Sharpay, waiting for the majority of the class to pass them up before quietly speaking, "Do you think you can handle it Shar?" he whispered, watching her face for any indication that she couldn't.

She took a breath and nodded, "Are you sure?" he asked, quickly glancing around before continuing, "You can always orb up there, I'll cover and…"

"No," she whispered, speaking for the first time all day, she looked around, "There are too many people…not to mention…" she looked up briefly, "…the golden gang will notice…"

He looked up again, finally noticing that Troy and his friends kept glancing back at them. He cursed them silently, if only they would go back to ignoring them like they usually did, Sharpay wouldn't have to walk up the entire hill. He sighed, reaching down to take her hand in his. She squeezed it gently in return, a sure sign that she was worried about the hill as well. She wasn't one for PDA of any kind, familiar or not, she was really worried if she was drawing strength from him.

"Let's get this over with," she muttered.

IOI

They did it! They finally reached the top of the hill after what seemed like hours of hiking. For all his dancing, Ryan couldn't feel his legs…or his hand…Sharpay had a death grip on his hand and he could definitely feel her shaking. The hill took a lot out of her and he was actually scared that she might just collapse from under him. Luckily she'd held on to the very end, collapsing on the curb as soon as Darbus had stopped walking.

Ms. Darbus turned around, about to say something to the class but stopped as she took in their beaten down appearance. Perhaps she should give them a few minutes to rest before she said her final words. Which was a very good thing as far as Ryan was concerned. He dropped to his knees before Sharpay, taking her face in his hands for a moment, as he watched her quietly gasp for breath. "Shar…" he started, "You ok?"

She nodded, her gasps transforming to deep breaths, but the frantic look in her eyes spoke differently. She was worried as well. "What can I do Shar?" he asked, "Do you want anything?"

"Just…" she started, still breathing too hard to get much out.

"What can I get you?" he asked, "Do you want to rest some more? Maybe a water? An ice pack? Food?"

"I'm…" she gasped, "…fine…"

"No you're not, now tell me what to do!" he whispered loudly, "What can I get? What can I do? What do you want? Do you need anything?" He kept repeating his questions over and over as if asking them again would get a different response from her rather than her stuttering replies.

"Just get me a water!" she finally shouted, getting fed up with trying to speak while he fretted over her.

He smiled, breathing a sigh of relief as he walked into the store conveniently located on the corner behind them. He walked through the door, completely ignoring the snickering coming from Chad and the gang as they followed him in. He walked to the back where the refrigerators were located and grabbed a bottle of water. He turned to head to the register but was stopped by the gang blocking his way.

"So the queen has requested a drink?" Chad asked, smirking. He was really starting to irritate Ryan today, he always acted like he knew everything and that no one could ever be as cool as he and Troy were.

Ryan just ignored him as he pushed past them, "You don't have to do that you know," he heard Gabriella say.

"Do what?" he asked as he turned to face them, still walking backwards towards the counter.

"Everything she says," she answered, "Jump every time she tells you to...you don't have to."

He shook his head at them and turned to pay for the water. They really had no idea what they were talking about. They thought he did things for Sharpay cause she told him to? No, he did them mostly because she couldn't. Did they notice the way she was shaking before? He doubted she'd even be able to stay standing much longer than she did. Half the time she wouldn't say anything of what she needed till he bugged the hell out of her and she snapped.

He walked out of the store and went to kneel by Sharpay again, she looked slightly better, more in control fo her breathing as he handed her the water. He was about to ask her what he could do for her when he heard Chad behind him, "Awww…what's wrong? The drama queen can't handle the work out?"

Ryan grit his teeth together and was about to give an angry retort when Sharpay gently grabbed his arm, "Don't," she whispered. He took a breath before nodding. Anger was bad, espeically when ones emotions were tied to their powers.

Darbus broke the tense silence that had settled over the group by rounding up all the students, "Now, class…" she started as the class groaned again, "Tut, tut," she chastized, "You may all go on your merry way now…BUT!" she shouted as the students started to walk away, "Since I cannot have you getting lost in the vast culture that is San Fransisco, you must all travel about in groups of three or more."

With that the students took off hoping that they wouldn't get caught by another Darbus announcement. Ryan sighed and helped Sharpay stand as they walked over to talk to Ms. Darbus before she left. "Ms. Darbus…" Sharpay said as she and Ryan walked over to her, "…would it be alright with you if Ryan and I went to see our family?"

Ms. Darbus looked torn for a moment, "Well…I don't really know," she said, "I said groups of three or more…you are a group of two…"

"Well…they live just around the corner," Ryan added, "I'm sure we'll be fine Ms. Darbus, and we can ask one of our cousins to walk back to the hotel with us if you'd like…"

"We can ask Prue to come," Sharpay quickly said, "She loves singing Ms. Darbus and we've told her so much about all the musicals you've directed."

"Really?" she asked, flattered, quickly sucked in by the twins.

"Of course," Ryan said, "She'd love to meet you, I'm sure."

"Well…" she said thoughtfully for a moment, "I supposed that would be alright. Go on and have fun with the family."

"Thanks Ms. Darbus," they said in unison before turning to walk down the street.

"Your family lives nearby?" Gabriella asked as they walked past them.

Ryan stopped and turned to face them, nodding, "Yeah…" he looked at the group realizing that they had no idea how to get about in the city and probably weren't all that interested in doing that anyway, "…do you...want to join us?" he asked, ignoring the frantic motions of Sharpay.

"Are you sure man?" Troy asked, "We wouldn't want to impose or anything…"

"Nah," he said waving them off, "I'm sure Aunt Piper would love the company, she jumps at any chance to cook up a huge dinner."

"If you're sure it's alright…" Gabriella said, eyeing Sharpay who was glaring daggers at Ryan.

He smiled, swinging his arm around Sharpay's shoulders and pulling her close to him, "Positive."

"Alright then," she said smiling.

Ryan nodded and turned, leading the way with Sharpay. "Are you insane?!" she hissed, pulling away from him.

"Don't worry Shar," he replied just as quietly, "Everything'll be fine."

"Have you forgotten what 'fine' means?" she asked, "It means no serious injuries during a demon attack!"

He rolled his eyes, "Nothing will happen," he said as she eyed him, "Trust me."

She sighed, "You better be right," she said, the last thing she needed was for someone to die in an 'unexpected' demon attack. She could only hope that someone else was there to help cover for them.

A/N – Pssst, what do they have to be worried about? Demons _never_ attack the manor…yeah…right…


	13. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

The door to the manor opened slowly, a blonde head peeking around it to check if the coast was clear. Ryan really didn't know what was worrying Sharpay so much, demons rarely ever attacked the house when it was empty. He couldn't sense any of his relatives there which meant that there was a very slim chance that demons would be attacking. He could already see the gears in Sharpay's head working overtime. She kept making different plans to what she could do if anything happened. If people were there, she'd ask them to ask everyone to leave. If there weren't she'd probably try to talk everyone out of going into a house uninvited, which was why he pushed the door open more and walked in, followed by everyone.

He saw Sharpay glancing behind her as she shut the door, looking outside for any suspicious activity. He knew the next chance she got, she'd run for the crystals that, when placed in a circle, created a protected space. If she placed them around the house, then no demons could come through, but that wasn't a set barrier. All a demon had to do was kick a stone away and they'd be able to get in. He shook his head knowing that she'd be on edge the whole time.

"Well, this is Halliwell Manor," Ryan said, spreading his arms open as he walked back towards the living room. The best thing to do, just to be more cautious, was to make sure everyone was in one room and didn't wander. He had no idea how he'd explain it if they found the Book of Shadows in the attic or the various potion ingredients in the kitchen.

"Is Halliwell you mom's maiden name?" Taylor asked as everyone took a seat on the couches, Ryan taking a seat at the edge of the hearth by the fireplace. Sharpay, however, opted to stand, her back to the doorway to the room watching everyone.

He nodded, "Actually…I think everyone except mom kept the Halliwell name," he added as an afterthought.

"Really?" Gabriella asked, she thought it was great that there were women who were so independent that they wanted to keep the name they were born with instead of fading into the background.

"Yup," he answered, "Uncle Leo, Uncle Coop, and Uncle Henry all took the Halliwell name."

"Really?" This time it was Chad who asked and not in the same awed tone as Gabriella had, no, his was more in disbelief. He didn't understand why any man would ever take a woman's name…not that that was a bad thing…if Taylor could read his mind right now he was sure he'd get smacked upside the head or something like that for even thinking that.

Ryan laughed, "Yeah, the family name is really important."

It was true, the Halliwell name was one that inspired fear in the heart of demons. He was pretty sure that his father would have taken the Halliwell name as well if it wasn't for the little fact that their mother was legally dead. Prudence Halliwell had died at the hands of a demon and was supposedly buried. If someone who looked like Prue Halliwell just wandered back into the newspapers, there would be hell to pay with the Elders. So she had to take their father's name, Evans.

It did have it's advantages though. While Halliwell was a fear-inspiring name, it was also a targeted name. Demons tended to go after the Halliwells as well. Once a demon found out you were a Halliwell, he would hunt you down unless you vanquished him first. Being an Evans gave them something of an advantage because demons didn't immediately think of them as Halliwells.

But those days would soon end, both he and Sharpay had agreed that when they were safely out of Albuquerque they'd legally take their mother's name. They'd finally become Halliwells. The only thing that worried him was demons attacking Sharpay. He really didn't want her to be a target for them, at least not till she was at full strength again.

"Wow," he heard Gabriella say, "This house just feels like it has such a history to it."

He looked up to see Sharpay rolling her eyes and couldn't help but laugh, if only they knew the half of it. He wondered briefly how well it might go over if he explained that the house was built on an evil spiritual nexus that fed off magic. Not very he guessed.

He was just about make up some lame story about their great grandmother buying the house with her first husband when something caught his eye. There was a shimmering behind Sharpay!

"Shar!" he shouted, jumping up and throwing out his hands just in time to freeze the demon who had shimmered in with a fireball in his hands. But not in time to freeze the others who shimmered in with him.

"Get down!" Sharpay called to the group as she turned to face off against the three demons that were left.

Ryan had only a second to worry about whether or not the gang would do as she said before he jumped off the couch and to Sharpay's side. She had already telekenetically thrown the frozen demon into the wall, shattering him into a pile of flaming pieces. They had to be quick about it, the less that the others saw, the better.

One of the demons sent a fireball flying at them. He quickly pushed Sharpay to the floor, his arm getting knicked in the process, as she threw her arm out sending the one who threw it flying back into the wall, impaling him on one of the coat hooks sticking out of the wall. He burst into flames as well.

Two down, two to go. They quickly jumped to their feet as a demon threw an athame at them, Ryan quickly swished his arm, sending the blade flying back at the demon in a flurry of orbs. Sharpay used this moment of distraction to shut her eys and immediately appear behind the last demon.

"Hey!" she shouted. He spun around quickly, sending a fireball at her…it flew right through her. Before the demon could even register what happened, the athame appeared sticking out of his chest. Ryan stood behind him, pulling out the blade as the demon burst into flames.

He turned around right as Sharpay collapsed to the floor, "Sharpay!" he ran to her side, noticing now that the others hadn't hit the floor like Sharpay had told them too. They had seen it all, but he couldn't worry about that now. He crouched down next to her, "You ok?" he asked, looking at her.

She looked horrible. A think layer of sweat coated her brow and matted a few strands of her hair to her face. Her eyes were wide with fear and wearieness. She was pale and breathing very heavily. Despite that though, she still managed to look at him and utter, "You're hurt…"

He looked down at his arm, only just realizing that he was infact hurt. "It's nothing," he said quickly, but not quickly enough. Sharpay reached out a shaking hand and healed his cut. "Shar…" he muttered, about to ask if she was ok when the enormity of what just happened finally hit the gang.

"Wha…what…what was that!?" Taylor shouted.

"What just happened!?" Gabriella said at the same time.

"Who were they?!" Chad added.

"Are you ok?" Of course, Troy would be the one concerned for them after what just happened.

"Dude!" Chad shouted.

"Not now," he all but growled, turning back to Sharpay. She was shaking violently now, not a good sign. "Shar…" her head jerked up to look at him, "Do you want some of the…" he paused a moment, he really couldn't think of a better word to use…and they already saw everything…he sighed, "…do you want some of the potion? To help?"

Sharpay's potion was a special concoction of their Aunt Piper's. When it became obvious that Sharpay couldn't handle overusing her powers, and how it affected her, Piper had come up with a special potion that helped. It as like a power shake or an energy shake, one that helped boost someone's energy, with just a pinch of camomile to calm them down. It did wonders for helping Sharpay recover from her little 'episodes'.

She nodded jerkily, holding onto him tightly as he helped her stand. "Be back in a minute," he muttered as he helped Sharpay walk towards the kitchen, "Stay right there."

They gang just stood there, motionless, wondering what the hell just happened, watching as Ryan practically carried Sharpay out of the room. As soon as he was out of sight, Chad grabbed his jacket and started heading for the door.

"Dude," Troy said, rushing to stop him, "Ryan said for us not to leave."

"Dude," Chad repeated, "I am not staying here. Did you see what just happened?!"

"Yeah," he said, running a hand through his hair, "And believe me, I'm just as freaked out about it as you are but…"

"But what?" Taylor asked, "We just watched as two of our classmates killed four men! That's not normal!"

"I know, but I'm sure they…"

"Who are you?" a new voice interrupted. They all looked over to see an older woman standing there, keys in one hand, a grocery bag in the other. She had brown hair pulled into a loose bun, a few strands of grey hair escaping it. She looked very confused as to what four very frightened looking teenagers were doing standing in the middle of her partially destroyed living room.

"Uh…um…" Gabriella started, for once not knowing what to say.

"Aunt Piper?" Ryan said, appearing in the doorway.

"Ryan?" she asked, "What the…where…who…what are you doing here?" she asked.

He let out a little laugh, "Funny you should ask that…"

"Wait," she said, holding up a hand, "Where's Sharpay?"

He sighed, "In the kitchen…" he glanced at the others before dropping his gaze, "There was a demon attack."

"Oh my god," she said, rushing over to him, "Are you ok? Is everything alright? How's Sharpay?"

"She's having some of your potion," he explained, "Can you go get her…we have a lot of things to explain to them…"

She glanced over at the gang before nodding and walking quickly in the direction Ryan had just walked.

"Hey guys…" Ryan said timidly…he had absolutely no idea what to say to explain all that just happened. There were so many things that he could do to have them forget what happened. A spell, memory dust, a potion…but looking at them now, he just couldn't. It wasn't fair to mess with their minds just to cover for his own mistake. He sighed, he should have listened to Sharpay.

"Yes you should have," she said as she and Aunt Piper walked back into the room.

"You ok?" he asked, as he took her from their aunt, she nodded as he helped her sit down in front of the group.

"Yeah," she answered, she glanced up at the group, "I guess we have some explaining to do." The only response they got was a bunch of nods. She sighed, "Let's get this over with…"

A/N – Just for the sake of the fic, Paige changed her name to Halliwell after the final battle. She's the half sister of the Charmed Ones and was adopted into the name of Matthews, but in the fic she changed it.


	14. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

"…so…let me get this right…" Chad said, "…you…" he looked at Ryan, "…and you…" he looked at Sharpay who was now drinking a camomile tea curtesy of Piper, "…are witches…"

"…and part whitelighter," Ryan added, "…yeah…"

"And you…" he looked at Piper, "…are a witch too?" She nodded, glancing quickly at her watch.

There was silence for a minute, "You honestly expect us to believe that load of…"

"Watch it…" Piper warned as Taylor's mouth actually started to get away from her.

"Well…it makes sense," Gabriella said. Sharpay rolled her eyes, of course Gabriella would be the logical one, "I mean, it does explain what we saw."

Sharpay looked away, choosing instead to watch Troy for his reaction. He hadn't moved from his position, sitting on the couch, his elbows on his knees, his clasped hands resting against his mouth, the entire time Ryan and she were explaining themselves. She wan't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. If he hated her right now, it'd be good because then he'd want nothing to do with her and he'd at least be safe…but then…she'd rather have him hate her because she acted like a complete jerk to him than hate her for what she was on the inside, for something she had no control over.

"So…" Chad started again, looking back at Ryan "…you can fight, turn things to ice, sense things, and make other things disappear in light?" He nodded, as Chad's attention turned to Sharpay again, "And you can project yourself somewhere, send things flying using just your mind, heal people, and read minds?"

"Sounds about right," she answered, her voice slightly hoarse.

"…and you both can dissapear in a light beam?" he asked again, "...like on Star Trek?"

"It's called orbing," Ryan said, shaking his head at Chad's words.

Chad nodded slowly before smiling, "Awesome."

That definitely was not the reaction anyone was expecting. Every eye in the room turned to stare at Chad in wonder. Piper had to admit, in all her years, she hadn't really seen someone react quite like that to the fact that magic and demons were real.

He was about to say something else when the front door was thrown open, "Mom!" someone shouted, "I'm home!"

"In the living room sweetie," Piper called, she was wondering when Melinda would be coming back from the movie she'd gone to see with her friends. "We have some company."

Hearing that there were people over, they could hear her run to the room. Her eyes widened as she saw Ryan and Sharpay sitting on the couches. "Ryan!" she shouted, running to the back of the couch to hug him, "Shar!" she said, doing the same to her, "What are you doing here?"

It was then that she noticed the others in the room, "Who are you?"

It was then that she noticed the state of the living room, "What happened here?"

Sharpay sighed, "Demon attack."

Her eyes widened even more, "Are you serious?! Are you ok? Was anyone hurt? Why didn't you call us?! We could have helped you know."

Ryan laughed, "It's ok Mel, we took care of it."

She still looked pretty miffed, standing there glaring at her cousins with her arms crossed in front of her chest. That only lasted for a few seconds when she seemed to notice Sharpay's still shakey state, "Shar…" she said softly, "you ok?" Sharpay nodded as Mel went to sit on the arm of the couch, resting her arm over Sharpay's shoulders.

"So what powers do you have?" Chad asked…completely throwing her for a loop. She looked down at Ryan and Sharpay, seeing the guilty look in their eyes, she could only assume that the demons attacked while their friends were over and they had to explain everything to them. She looked over to her mother, who simply nodded. She sighed, about to state what her powers were when the chimes that accompainied someone orbing in sounded.

A flurry of white and blue orbs swirled before them fading to reveal one angry mother. "Ryan Andrew Evans!" she said in the eerily calm yet very angry voice that all mothers were famous for, "Sharpay Miranda Evans! What do you have to say for yourselves?!" The twins sat there, eyes wide, staring at their very angry mother, praying to the powers that be that she remembered she was a pacifist. "How could you both be so reckless?! Coming to the manor?! Bringing your friends along? Did you have any idea what could have happened? How bad things could have gone? You were all very, very lucky, I hope you know that."

"Sorry mom," they both said in unison, bowing their heads.

"Don't you give me that 'sorry mom' crap," she said. She was furious. She had come so close to loosing her children so many times she had lost count. When the family was together, if they had their cousins with them, she had less to worry about. But just the thought that it was only the two of them fending off the demons…she didn't think she could handle that. "You especially Sharpay! What did you think you were doing? Why didn't you let your brother fight?!"

It was no secret in the Halliwell house that Sharpay was in no condition to do any serious fighting...yet. Any time demons attacked, everyone took it upon themselves to keep her out of the battle and safe. The fact that she was sitting there, still shaking and worn out from the fight told her that Ryan hadn't been able to keep her at bay, and she knew Sharpay was the reason for that. When it was just her and someone else fighting a demon, she was usually able to somehow worm her way into the fight.

"He was hurt," she muttered quietly.

That was it.

Prue rounded on Ryan starting off on a tirad about how he let himself get hurt and how he should have taken better care of himself. Ryan just sat there, drinking in her words, he'd heard them all before, so it really was nothing new. He was used to it. As soon as Prue had said all she had to say, she'd calm down.

About five minutes later, she did.

She sighed, "Are you both ok?" she asked, eyeing them closely, waiting till they nodded to go over and hug them, ignoring the shocked stares of the gang. "I'm glad," she whispered as she hugged them both.

"And I thought you were bad," Mel whispered to her mother. Piper let out a little laugh, she was about to retort when there was another shimmering in the room.

The gang tensed as Ryan stood up. What was it now? Another demon?!

Well…they were partially right. Missy came into view, lunging right at Ryan, hugging the living daylights out of him. "Are you ok?!" she practically shouted, "I felt a demonic presence in the house and…"

Ryan laughed, "I'm fine, everyone's fine," he hugged her a little tighter, "Besides, the demons attacked a while ago."

"Really?" she asked, pulling away. He nodded, "Damn," she muttered, "Going to magic school really throws off my senses." She had been doing some extra credit work for her defensive magic class and hadn't been able to sense anything in the outside world till she got home. The moment she did, however, she felt the presence in the manor. Without warning, she smacked him on the arm, "What were you thinking? Fighting them on your own?!"

Ryan groaned, was he going to get this from everyone today? Sharpay let out a little laugh, "Get ready for more," she muttered just as a five shapes suddenly appeared in the room in a blast of pinkish light.

"Oh my god!" Phoebe shouted, as she ran over to the twins as her husband and children watched, "Are you two ok?" she went to hug them, "Paige called and said she sensed Prue here and that she couldn't get down to check what was wrong and that she wanted me to come but then Coop wouldn't let me go alone and the girls wanted to come and…"

"Aunt Phoebe," Sharpay gasped, "Air…"

"Oh sorry," she said pulling away from them, "Are you both ok?" They nodded again, about ready to explain what had happened when a flurry of orbs filled the room.

The next thing they knew, Wyatt, Chris, Henry, Charlotte, Bri, Uncle Leo, Aunt Paige and Uncle Henry were standing before them, all asking what happened.

Sharpay and Ryan looked over at the gang to see them all sitting there with their mouths hanging open. They briefly wondered how they'd react to knowing this was a normal day in the Halliwell family.

A/N – Next Chappy should be a nice, normal, Halliwell family dinner…right…normal…


	15. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

"I still can't believe you told them," Prue said as she, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige stood with Sharpay and Ryan while the gang stood with them. They were standing in the foyer while Chris and Henry got dinner settled.

"Well what were we supposed to do Prue?" Piper asked, "They saw everything."

"Well you could have froze them Piper," she said, "Then we could have asked Leo or Paige to use Memory Dust on them or…"

"No!" Troy shouted, backing away from them, pretty freaked out. Oh no, he wasn't freaked out by the fact that his neighbors were witches, no he always knew Sharpay was special…he was really freaked by the mention of Memory Dust even though he wasn't entirely sure why, "Don't bring that stuff anywhere near me!"

Everyone standing in the Foyer just kind of looked at him oddly. They had no idea what was wrong with him, why he looked so shaken by the mention of…oh no…

Ryan rolled his eyes, turning to his mother, "Mom…" he started, eyeing her. He watched as she crossed her arms over her chest, something she only did when she was nervous, scared, or guilty.

"Oh mom you didn't!" Sharpay said, catching on to what Ryan was implying.

"No," she said, before fidgeting slightly, "Not entirely….ok maybe a little…"

"Mom!" they shouted.

"What?" she asked, still trying for some semblence of innocence.

"Prue, I can't believe you!" Phoebe added. Sure, she was one for using Memory Dust once or twice to keep their secret safe…but judging by how freaked out this Troy boy (a/n - hehe, troy boy) was, Prue must have used it a whole lot more.

"What did she do?" Gabriella whispered to Ryan, holding Troy's hand in her own.

Ryan sighed, "She used Memory Dust on Troy."

"Only a little," she defended, rolling her eyes as her children glared at her, "What would you have me do? You three were so close as children it was only natural that you played together all the time. You were both just coming into your powers and you couldn't control using them around him and I couldn't just let him run off knowing about what you could do."

Sharpay sighed, she couldn't ask herself what her mother was thinking when she decided to use the Dust on Troy. She knew exactly what she was thinking, she was remembering Andy among the others who were put in danger because of knowing their secret. Andy died, their friend, her's and Ryan's Uncle Darryl almost died, their aunts had died a number of times because others discovered their secret, even their mother had died to cover up the secret. Of course she would do anything in her power to protect the family…even if it meant pushing away one of her children's best friends. It left Sharpay wondering whether or not it really was Troy becoming interested in basketball that drove him away or if the use of Memory Dust made him forget some of the friendship he shared with them.

"But not now," she heard her Aunt Paige say, "Now, they're older and wiser and more in control of their powers."

"Yeah," Phoebe said, "You can't use the Dust now," Prue glared at her, "I just mean that…don't you think they deserve someone to talk to about things?"

"They have their cousins," Prue answered.

"Who live halfway across the country," Piper said.

"They see them in Magic School," she muttered.

"In between classes," Phoebe added.

"There's always a phone," Prue said, her arguments starting to dwindle.

"But with reception and time differences and school…" Paige cut in thoughtfully.

Prue sighed, rubbing her head, "Fine, fine, no Dust…" but then her head snapped up to look at the gang, "But I swear, if any of you do anything that jeoprodizes the safety and well-being of my children, I will hunt you down and…"

"You're a pacifist," Phoebe whispered quickly in her ear.

Prue glared at her, "Fine…" she turned back to the gang, "…my sisters will hunt you down and you'd best pray they finish you off before their children do."

"Here here!" came the shouts of 9 other charmed children from the dining room.

It was true, no one messed with the family. No one. If anything happened the family united and nothing escaped their wrath. None of the cousins ever felt like they were just cousins, they all felt like they were brothers and sisters, all bound by the gift of magic and family.

"Understood?" Prue asked, eyeing each of the four teenagers before her. They nodded quickly, the fear of god now put into them, "Good…now who's up for dinner?"

IOI

Sharpay and Ryan were incredibly happy, they had all been sitting at the magically enlarged dining room table, having a nice sit down dinner with the family. The entire family. There was Uncle Leo, Uncle Coop, Uncle Henry, Aunt Piper, Aunt Phoebe, Aunt, Paige, their cousins Wyatt, Chris, Mel, Henry, Charlotte, Bri, Penny, Patty, and Prue. Maya, Matthew, and B were there too. Even Uncle Darryl, Aunt Shelia, their children Darryl Jr. and Michael, Aunt Billie and Uncle Ty, and Missy were there! Their mother had even gone to get their father to bring him to dinner also. It was great to be able to share this experience with Troy, Gabriella, Taylor, and even Chad. It felt so nice to have everyone together again just out of the blue for a dinner.

And now they were all sitting around the living room, well the kids were. They were everywhere, on the couches, on the chairs, on the arm rests, on the floor, on the hearth, everywhere they could sit they did. Darryl and his family, Aunt Billi and hers, Maya and Matthew, and B had gone home before, they wanted to give the family a chance to explain something to the gang. The Charmed Ones and their husbands were hanging back in the dining room as their children talked.

Needless to say, Troy and the gang had a lot of questions, a lot. But then they knew about all the powers that Sharpay and Ryan and their cousins had as well as the powers of the Charmed Ones. They knew all about what happened with their mother and why she was a whitelighter, about all the trials and tribulations their aunts had gone through trying to keep Wyatt safe, about the various sources and demons that had been vanquished by them. They'd explained Missy as well, and how the family had randomly all showed up at the school that one time. They knew the basics on just about everything by the time they had to leave to head back to the hotel.

No one wanted to leave, espeically not the gang. It was amazing to learn that magic and fairies and leprechauns and things were real. Terrifying to learn that demons were real as well, but calming to know that there were forces in the world protecting them from attacks. They really felt like a part of the family by the end of the night. It also helped that while they were leaving, each of Ryan and Sharpay's cousins had lined up at the door to give each and every one of the gang a hug or a handshake as they left.

Troy and Chad had managed to make it to the door while Taylor was still being hugged by the twins Charlotte and Bri. Ryan was talking to Chris and Henry about something while Sharpay spoke with Mel and Patty. Gabriella was just behind Taylor, getting out of a hug by Penny and pulled into one by Prue. Prue tensed for just a second, a completely unnoticable second. Smiling widely, though strained, as Gabriella pulled away to be hugged by Mel.

"Uh…Shar…" Prue said, as she walked over to Sharpay, "Can I talk to you a minute…"

She didn't wait for a reply as she half dragged Sharpay over to the living room. The next thing they knew there was a loud scream from the room, "WHAT!?"

A/N – Hmm…wonder what's wrong? You'll find out soon!


	16. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

The happy goodbyes were no more. Not now, not after the little yell of Sharpay's. Ryan had run to the living room to see Sharpay staring at Prue with a horrified expression on her face…it couldn't be good. The entire family was standing in the door way, the gang just in front of them. Sharpay's gaze locked on Gabriella.

"What happened?" Ryan asked, going over to Sharpay, hugging her like he knew she needed right then.

"I…had a premonition," Prue admitted, bowing her head like she always did when it was a bad vision.

"Oh my god," Patty said as she and Penny rushed over to her side.

"What was it?" Penny asked, taking Prue's hand in hers.

Troy was in awe. The love he could feel in the room right then…the way that Ryan and Penny and Patty went to their siblings side in their time of need was just amazing.

Prue glanced up, looking from Sharpay to Gabriella and back. Sharpay nodded. She took a deep breath, "I saw…Gabriellathrowingafireball…"

There was silence for a moment, "What?" Wyatt said, he could never understand Prue when she spoke that fast.

"I saw…Gabriella…throwing a fireball…" she repeated slowly.

"What?" Taylor asked, looking at Gabriella who looked utterly shocked.

"That's not possible," Troy confirmed.

"Yeah…" Gabriella spoke up, "I'm not a demon."

Chad shook his head, adding in, "She's too nice."

"You'd be surprised," Mel said as she and Henry went to stand in between Sharpay and Prue, their eyes never leaving Gabriella.

"Demons will go to any length to get what they want," Henry explained.

"Like Uncle Cole," Wyatt muttered as he went to stand by their side as well, Bri following him. Cole was a demon who had acted nice and cordial to get to their Aunt Phoebe.

"Or Grandpa's second wife," Charlotte added, joining the family with Chris. She'd been a demon who'd tricked their grandfather into marrying her, she'd acted like a perfect grandmother, a loving, concerned woman, who was really out to kill Wyatt before he was born.

"It…it may not be Gabriella," Prue said quickly, "It could always be a demon who glamoured himself to look like her."

"That's probably it," Taylor said, going to stand by Gabriella, taking her hand, offering her strength.

"Yeah," Chad said standing by Taylor.

Only Troy was silent. He looked back and forth between Sharpay and Gabriella…something told him not to cast aside anything that her family said. Maybe it was something from the past he barely remembered or maybe it was how they put up such a united front…but something told him to believe them. Not that he really believed Gabriella was a demon…who wanted to think that they'd been dating a demon for the last year? But just…they had experience in this field…they must have some idea of what was going on…

"Is…is there anyway to know for sure?" he asked quietly.

"Troy!" Gabriella shouted, completely devastated that he would believe she was a demon.

Mel nodded, "Yeah, there's a few tests…but they're really time consuming…"

"There's always…" Henry started, but stopped. Everyone looked at him, the family knowing what he was going to say, but the others didn't. He sighed, "There's always the book."

"The book?" Troy asked, he knew they said something about a Book of Shadows, but he had no idea how that would help tell if someone was a demon.

Bri took the wheel this time, "If a demon gets near the book, it flies away from them."

"No evil can touch the book," Charlotte explained. They had all made sure of that. Their aunts had told them of a few times when Demons had tricked the book either through potions or spells, so they had all gotten together and charmed the book even more, it would never again be fooled by demons or evil.

"So let's have her touch the book," Taylor said, pulling her down the hallway…

"Uhh…book's upstairs," Ryan said.

"Oh…" Taylor said, pulling her back to the group and up the stairs.

Sharpay hesitated following…she'd caught a glimpse of Gabriella's face, it was scared. She shook her head, she'd be pretty freaked out too if she just met an entire magical family and was told that they all thought she was a demon. She sighed, walking up the stairs with the rest of her cousins.

IOI

The old attic was pretty full, there had never really been more than five people in there at a time for a while. But now it was packed with three times that amount, fifteen people stood gathered around the book.

"Here it is," Chris said, gently picking it up. It had grown exponentially since both Chris and Wyatt had been children. The Charmed Ones even joked that they should split it into two books, one for good guys and one for bad guys. It was huge, not to mention heavy as well. They had to replace its stand with a new one to support its weight.

Gabriella stood before him, staring at the various people around the room, "Will…will it hurt?" she asked.

Mel shook her head, "It'll only fly away from you if you're...well...not you. If you are you it's just like a regular book."

She nodded her head, before reaching out a shaky hand towards the book. It got closer and closer, and…nothing happened.

The Halliwells breathed out a silent sigh of relief…

Until the book suddenly went flying across the room, Gabriella let out a small scoffing laugh, "Oops," she said before disappeared in a wave of flames.

Sharpay was the one to break the silence that followed, "Oh…my…god…"

A/N – MUWAHAHAHAHA!! Don't cha just hate me right now lol.


	17. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

That night Sharpay sat on the roof of the hotel, just thinking. She really needed to clear her head after what happened with Gabriella. She was not expecting that at all. Sharpay had freaked out, more than freaked out after finding out that Gabriella was a demon. No one had expected that, not even Ryan and he was the one with sensing powers. Most whitelighters couldn't sense demons, but the fact that he was half whitelighter, half witch, allowed him the intuitive powers of a witch. It basically meant that his sensing was much better than normal. He could usually sense when demons were around, Gabriella must have taken a blocking potion or something.

The entire family had freaked out as well, they weren't expecting it either. But there was nothing they could really do now except try to figure out some sort of lie to tell Darbus about why Gabriella wouldn't be coming back to school with them.

Fortunately for them, Mrs. Darbus hadn't been at the hotel when they got there so all they had to do was sign in for Gabriella and no one would notice…till Darbus took role when the got on the bus tomorrow. They'd have to talk about what to do…but for now…she really couldn't.

As soon as they got back to the hotel, she'd orbed up to the roof and had been there for the last hour or so. She really couldn't believe she hadn't noticed that Gabriella was a demon! And to think, just a few hours ago, she'd been siting in the middle of Halliwell Manor, one floor under the Book of Shadows, surrounded by people she probably could have easily killed. None of them had been on guard that night. She probably could have picked them all off one by one, or at least the healers, and then gone after everone else…the defenseless ones like Maya or…or Matthew.

How could she have been so stupid!? How could she have even thought of letting anyone into the house. It was her own fault that she didn't know about Gabriella. She was the one pushing everyone away from her, everyone away from Ryan. If she had gotten to know Gabriella, then maybe there would have been a chance of her realizing something wasn't right…and than she would have had an excuse to not let them in the house…better yet, she'd have a valid excuse to vanquish her sorry ass like she wanted to do when she first met the girl.

She sighed, she should have just listened to her instincts the first time she met her. She knew, she just knew that there was something off about her. But she'd brushed it off as jealousy. How many times had her mother and aunts told her to trust her instincts? And the one time, the one time she didn't…

Her thoughts of self icrimination were cut off at the sound of the old roof door creaking open. She turned to see Troy walking towards her, "Hey Shar…" he whispered.

"Hey," she answered, "How'd you get up here?"

He laughed a little, "Well, not all of us can just orb on up here," he sat down next to her, "I walked."

She laughed, "Why?"

He sighed, "I wanted to make sure you were ok…and I wanted to get away from Chad. He keeps going on and on about how he knew Gabriella was evil while Ryan's trying to calm down Taylor. She's freaked that her best friend was a demon."

Sharpay looked at him, "And how about you?"

"What?"

"How are you doing?" she asked, "Finding out that your girlfriend was a demon?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment, "Ok…"

"Really?" she asked, she wasn't really expecting that.

"Yeah," he nodded, "Honestly, I was about to break up with her anyway."

"Really?" she asked again.

"Yeah," he repeated, "I was trying to find something to break up with her over but she was always just so…"

"Perfect," they said at the same time.

"Yeah…and I mean, I couldn't really break up with her for being perfect right?" he asked, she nodded, "I think it really says something about someone if you can stay with someone full of faults you know?" she nodded again, "I also really wanted more of a challenge from her…she always seemed like she would say and do things just because it was something I liked…I want someone who would put their foot down and argue with me and, I don't know, make me grow as a person or something deep like that."

He laughed and she couldn't help but laugh as well. They fell into a comfortable silence, both just staring up at the stars.

"Hey Shar?" he asked, waiting till she looked at him to continue, "I…I just wanted to let you know…I think it's really cool, what you and your family do. I don't just mean the magic and everything, which is awesome by the way," she giggled, "I mean, how you guys face things that terrify everyone and you fight them and you don't stop till you win. You're just so brave and strong and caring and beautiful and well…magical."

He glanced over at her and saw her staring at him, tears in her eyes. He really hoped he hadn't said anything to offend her. "Oh, Shar…I'm…I'm sorry I just…"

"No," she cut him off, "It's ok…it's just…" she sighed, how was she going to explain her views on dating. How could she tell him that it was dangerous and completely unsafe for him to be around her. But as she sat there, looking at him, she realized something. No matter what, there would be danger for everyone, if it wasn't a demon attack it could be a car accident or something. No one in the world was completely safe from every little thing. She realized, Ryan was right, which wasn't really a surprise because Ryan was almost always right. It wasn't her choice to make, it was Troy's. If he wanted to be with her, then that was what he wanted and if she said no, she'd hurt him, probably more than any demon attack would. Actually, definitely more than a demon attack, usually they attacked to kill. But besides that point, she knew, you can't help who you love.

And she loved Troy.

She always had, and she probably always will…they were soulmates after all.

"Shar…" she looked up, "I love you," he whispered before leaning in to kiss her, slowly he pulled away, watching her face for any indication that he had overstepped his boundaries.

She smiled slightly, looking up at him, "I love you too…" she whispered before leaning in again.

A/N – Really short I know…but I really wanted to get some Troypay in. Hope you liked it! I was so busy trying to update this story, I completely forgot to check all of everyone's awesome reviews. I noticed people had some questions, so I'll try to clear them up now :) I'm definitely going to update the POTC fic, but not till I finish this one. Missy is just an original character in this fic, she's not from the show. At the end of the other chapter, it was their cousin Prue, not their mom. And Gabriella was a demon the entire time, loved throwing that in. Hehe, hope that clears some things up.


	18. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

They'd come up with a tenative plan to get Gabriella's disappearance past Darbus. Once Sharpay was on the bus, she was going to Astral Project outside the bus where Ryan was going to cast a spell to make her look like Gabriella. That way, they'd both be on the bus…kind of. Ryan was still against the idea of Sharpay using her powers, but there was nothing they could do.

Sharpay couldn't stop fidgeting as they neared the bus, what if something went wrong? What if she couldn't do it? What if the spell didn't work? What if…

She couldn't think on that now, no, she had to stay confident. She smiled at Mrs. Darbus as she checked off Chad getting on the bus, her smile fading slightly as she stopped Troy who was just before her from getting on. "Ah, Mr. Bolton," she said, adjusting her glasses as she checked off his name, "I do hope all is well with you and Miss Montez…"

"What do you mean Ms. Darbus?" he asked, his voice pitching slightly. Sharpay rolled her eyes, he was not good at covering up.

"I mean, Miss Montez is on the bus already," she answered, not noticing the now pale faces of the gang, "Usually you two arrive together."

"O…oh…" Troy said, glancing at Sharpay who shook her head, she didn't know what to do either, "Everything's fine."

"Good," she said, she'd hate for the chemistry he and Gabriella had to be wasted, "Are you alright Sharpay? You look a bit pale."

"I'm fine Mrs. Darbus," she replied following Troy into the bus, Ryan following closely behind her. As soon as they got up the small steps of the bus they froze…there sitting in the middle of the bus like on the trip there…was Gabriella.

She was sitting there, right next to Kelsi, grinning and laughing like nothing at all had happened.

"What should we do?" Troy asked, watching her, moving slightly towards a seat as the students behind him pushed them farther into the bus.

_'Nothing,'_ a voice said in Sharpay's head. Gabriella glanced up and locked gazes with her, _'I know you can hear me Sharpay. That's one of your powers isn't it? To read minds? Well, read mine, loud and clear. You will do nothing, not now at least, not surrounded by onlookers, by innocents and I don't plan on letting you do anything till I've finished what I came here to do.'_

Sharpay opened her mouth but shut it quickly, she was right. There was nothing that they could do, nothing at all. She fixed her gaze on Gabriella, a look of concentration growing on her face, quickly replaced by a look of pain, _'Poor baby,'_ Gabriella's voice said in her mind, _'I wouldn't try that again. It's very rude to go looking in someone's head, secrets are secret for a reason. My mission is for me to know…and you to suffer with…'_

She opened her eyes to see Gabriella smirking at her. She truly looked the part of a demon just then. The look of victory and evil shining clearly in her eyes. But all too soon it faded into the goody goody look she had used for over a year as she resumed her conversation with Kelsi.

"You ok Shar?" Ryan asked as he led her to a seat across from Troy, Chad, and Taylor.

She nodded, glancing one more time at Gabriella before taking her seat and resting her head against the window…what was she going to do now? Gabriella was up to something and she couldn't stop her…

A/N – I know, way too short, but I just had to add this little blurb in. Hopefully everything else will be longer.


	19. Chapter Seventeen

A/N - Sorry for no update before, my brother's girlfriend was visiting so my mom thought it was the perfect time for spring cleaning and then it was Memorial Day Parade time in my town and things...anyway, here's the story :)

Chapter Seventeen

A couple weeks had passed since the incident in San Francisco, and everyone, even Troy, Chad, and Taylor had been keeping an eye on Gabriella who just acted like she always did. There would be a few times where, passing in the halls, she would send them a sly look, the kind of look that a child would give a parent when they know they've done something wrong but also know that their parent won't find out just what that was.

It was very disturbing.

All qualms with Gabriella aside, the weeks had been going really well. Homework hadn't been that hard, tests were easy, the Basketball team had been doing really well as had Troy and Sharpay's relationship, and rehersals had been great! There hadn't even been any demon attacks either…which really worried the twins. When things went _that_ well…something was bound to go very, very wrong.

And indeed it did.

That night, rehersals had just ended and things had gone flawlessly, and the gang was going to head over to the Evan's to watch a movie. It was a Friday so they didn't have to worry about staying up late and going to school the next day. In fact, they were all going to stay the night. Or at least that's what the plan had been till Ryan froze just outside the building. A split second later, he grabbed Sharpay's arm, muttering a rushed, "Got to go," before orbing them both away.

The gang stood there for a few more moments, just wondering what had happened. Whatever it was…it couldn't be good. From what they knew about the way Ryan's powers worked, about the way a Whitelighter's powers worked, he could sense if things were going wrong, if he was needed somewhere to protect a charge. He was too young to have charges and so, the only people close enough to him for him to sense were his family. And if something had happened to the family…then things were much worse than they thought they were.

They looked at each other, each thinking the same thing, what now? Troy sighed, "I guess we should…head to their house or something."

Taylor nodded, "Yeah, we're supposed to be there, hopefully they'll head there when they come back and we can talk."

"Sounds good," Chad agreed, reaching out to unlock his car, he was supposed to drive tonight. Usually they all carpoolled…not to mention it was safer to travel together than by themselves…they didn't know whether or not demons could shimmer into cars or not.

IOI

Troy was really starting to get worried. Sharpay and Ryan had disappeared about an hour ago and there was no way to contact her to see if she was ok. She had dropped the bag that she and Ryan were using to carry theif stuff when Ryan had orbed them out, which had their cell phones in it. He cursed himself for not getting any of their cousins numbers or anything like that. It would save him so much grief and worry…but then again, calling the house in the middle of a demon attack may not be a smart thing to do. What if someone got distracted by the ringing and got hurt? What if Sharpay…

No, he couldn't be thinking of this now…no, Sharpay was fine. He didn't know why, but it seemed like everyone would protect her, like they always united to make sure that Sharpay would stay safe. She had to be safe, she just had to. He didn't know what he'd do if something happened to her. But what if…

Just as his thoughts were about to take a darker turn, the familiar chime of someone orbing filled the room followed quickly by flashing white and blue lights. Everyone jumped from the couch where they'd been sitting to their feet as four forms materialized in the room. Four?

They recognized Sharpay and Ryan's cousin Henry and Patty materialized first, their appearance greatly worried the gang. They were beat up, badly injured, with cuts all over them, bruises starting to form, and a disturbing red and green goo covering them. Had a war gone on? Ryan appeared next, with an unconcsious Sharpay cradled in his arms. She was shaking badly, not horribly injured but still in pretty bad shape.

"What happened?" Taylor shouted as Troy ran to Sharpay's side, Ryan placing her gently on the couch.

"There was an attack at the Manor," Henry said, reaching out to start healing Patty.

Ryan nodded in agreement, "I sensed that they needed help and went to help…"

"You shouldn't have brought Sharpay," Patty muttered, wincing as Henry moved to a particularly bad wound on her shoulder.

"What would you have me do?" he asked, gritting his teeth in anger, "She would have followed as soon as I left."

Patty sighed, "You're right…sorry…it's just…" She groaned, "I hate seeing her like this."

"Like I do?" Ryan asked, "I…"

"Guys lets not start a fight," Henry said, always the pacifist, "We couldn't have done anything."

"What happened exactly?" Chad asked, moving to Taylor's side.

Ryan squeezed Sharpay's hand, "The demons attacked, we went to help, we started winning, and then…"

"A new demon shimmered in and attacked," Patty finished, she shook her head, "Shar freaked out and the demon went after her."

"I just…don't understand," Henry said, finishing up on Patty's wounds, "Why'd she freak? She's seen plenty of demons before…"

Ryan tensed, something everyone noticed, "It wasn't just some other demon," he said softly, "It was Khazahdum."

There were gasps from both Henry and Patty at the mention of that name. "Who's Kalazam?" Chad asked.

"Khazahdum!" They all shouted.

"Sorry," he said quietly.

Ryan sighed, "Not your fault…Khazahdum was…he's the reason Shar is the way she is…"

They just stared at her, they hadn't known that anything was wrong with her.

Patty must have sensed their confusion, as had Ryan for he started to retell the tale that had haunted Sharpay for years, "A really long time ago, Sharpay and I were in a park in San Fransisco. We were just starting to come into our powers and…a demon attacked us. I…orbed away…"

"He couldn't help it!" Henry shouted, seeing the horrified looks that the gang now wore, "It's a fear response. Until we learn how to orb, we can only do it when we get startled or scared. And even then we wind up in the same place that we orbed from."

Ryan shook his head, "It still doesn't make up for what happened," he muttered quietly, he obviously still blamed himself for what happened to his sister. "I orbed out, but Sharpay couldn't. I rematerialized just as the demon, Khazahdum, shimmered out with Sharpay. I couldn't orb away so I ran as fast as I could back to the manor and told my aunts what happened. They called mom and they all set to work to find her."

He reached down and brushed a strand of hair out of Sharpay's face, "When they finally found her, she was in the underwold, the demonic world, and they orbed down there. They took me with them, there was no way I was going to leave Shar alone again." He started shaking, "When we got there…she was in really bad shape, not even Uncle Leo thought she'd make it, he couldn't heal her. Wyatt couldn't heal her, mom couldn't even heal her. We found out later that the wounds she sustained were made by a weapon that fed off magical energy and couldn't be healed by whitelighters. They had to heal on their own, it was hell for her."

"What happened to the demon?" Taylor asked, grabbing onto Chad's hand for dear life. Just hearing about what Sharpay had been through as a child was horrible.

"The same thing that happens to all the demons that piss off mom and her sisters," Ryan answered, "They vanquished his sorry ass."

"Sharpay was never the same after that attack," Patty continued, seeing that it was getting hard for Ryan to continue, "The wounds she had, they drained her energy and, Uncle Leo thinks they still are. She's never been able to reach her full magical potentional, she's always been weaker than she should be."

Henry nodded, "She works so hard, everyday, to try to build up her strength again. But she has to be really careful not to overexert herself, she burns out really easily both magically and physically."

"It's been really hard on her," Ryan said after an awkward silence had fallen, "Thinking she's weak and all. She hates that. She hates seeing people get hurt because of her. We always try to keep her out of the fights because we don't want anything to happen to her. Sometimes…we get hurt…and she hates that we do. I always try to do things for her, carry things, get her things because I know that she's not well enough to do it herself even though she tries to be." He laughed a little, "That doesn't stop her though…once we were attacked by a demon and she jumped in the way of the energy ball meant for me, just because she wanted to protect me…" his voice broke a little as tears escaped his eyes, it was hard seeing his little sister hurt like this.

"But…I thought…" Chad paused, trying to decide the right way to phrase his question, "I thought you said that the demon, this Khazahdum, was killed by your aunts?"

Henry nodded, "He was."

"But not anymore," Patty added, "Someone brought him back."

"Who?" Troy asked, speaking for the first time in a while. Whoever it was, demon or warlock or whatever, he was going to take them down. He didn't care that he was just a simple mortal teenager…he was going to make them pay for bringing the demon of Sharpay's nightmares back to life.

Ryan looked up at his cousins, indecision in his eyes. They nodded, the group had a right to know who it was. He sighed, "Gabriella."

A/N – Gasp! What will happen next? Will Sharpay be ok? What will happen to Gabriella? More importantly, what will happen now that Khazahdum is back? So many questions…so little time…lol, I know Khazahdum is a pretty stupid name but I thought Chad's Kalazam was pretty funny so I tried to think of a similar but more evil sounding one, not too sure it worked though.


	20. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

"Gabriella?" Taylor asked, she was still finding it hard to believe Gabriella was a demon.

"Yeah," Patty said, "The bitch brought him back!" she pulled away from Henry who had just finished up her wounds and headed to the wall…which she punched…breaking her hand. "Damn it!"

Henry sighed, getting up to go heal her hand, "She more than brought him back," he heard Ryan say, "He was much, much stronger than he was. Only our aunts were needed to vanquish him before…but this time…this time…"

"They couldn't," Henry finished, "Wyatt tried to get a little piece off him…but…" he shook his head.

"Not even Wyatt could," Patty muttered, "And he's the strongest of us all."

"Gabriella must have done something to him," Ryan explained to the group, "Made him more powerful than he already was."

"But how?" Henry asked, more to himself than the others though everyone heard him.

There was silence for a while as each of them tried to make sense of the situation. When the silence finally got to be too much, Taylor spoke, "Well…is there anyone stronger than Wyatt?"

She knew it was a long shot, but she had to hope, someone had to stop Gabriella before something really bad happened.

Ryan sighed, he'd been hoping that question wouldn't come up. "Yes," he whispered, "There is…"

"Well who?" Taylor asked getting excited, now there was hope, "Maybe we can talk to them and get them to help and…"

Patty shook her head, "It doesn't work like that," she said, looking pointedly at Ryan. It was his story to explain.

He took a deep breath, "The only magical beings stronger than Wyatt…are Shar and I…but only if we're together and only if she's at full strength."

There was silence again, Taylor's hope was effectively crushed. After hearing about Sharpay's…magical illness…if you could call it that, she had serious doubts that Sharpay would ever be at full strength again. If she had been working like a maniac for years to build up her strength, only to be tired out after using her powers for a few moments…something wasn't working.

"Why you two?" Chad asked, "Not to sound rude or anything…"

"It's ok," Ryan said, his eyes never leaving Sharpay's face, "Shar and I…we're like our Aunt Billie…remember what we said about her?"

Troy nodded, "Yeah…something about her and her sister being really powerful, but…"

"Then her sister died," Ryan finished, "Did you guys notice anything…different…about Sharpay and I?"

Chad was about to answer the obvious question that they were witches when Taylor beat him to the correct answer, "There's only two of you."

Ryan nodded, "The power of the Charmed Ones is only filtered through the two of us, not three like with everyone else. There's more power shared between the two of us, divided in half instead of in thirds."

"So…" Taylor started, catching on, "You're more powerful because you're not sharing your power with a third person."

"Yeah, it's like with Billie and Christie, they were two people who's powers fed off of each others and and worked in unison, like Shar and mine. Their power rivaled and almost beat the power of our Aunts during the Final Battle. If Sharpay's at full strength, we're pretty sure we'd be just as powerful, if not more so, than even Wyatt is."

"…if?" Taylor asked, catching onto his small detail.

"Well Shar's never really been at full power has she?" Patty answered for him, "She was attacked just coming into her powers…"

"…almost like someone wanted to keep her power down…" Chad said, an idea coming alive in his head.

"Oh my god," Ryan cut in, "You're right! Why didn't we see it before?!"

"See what?" Henry asked, still slightly confused.

"If the only way to defeat a powerful demon is with powerful witches," Ryan started, "All they had to do was to make sure that the powerful witches never reached their true power."

Realization filled Henry's eyes as he saw just what Ryan was getting at, "And if someone brought him back so that only you and Sharpay could vanquish it…"

"They just had to get Sharpay out of the picture," Patty cut in, "And they knew we'd never let them kill her…so they just…"

"Stripped her power a little," Ryan finished.

"Gabriella!" Taylor shouted, excited to be able to contribute something, "She's been talking for a while about how Sharpay always seemed a little weak and things like that."

Everyone started nodding, "You said she only showed up last year?" Patty asked, getting nods of agreement from the gang, "Maybe she…"

"…was sent here to check and see if Sharpay was still weakened," Henry continued.

"…and once she was certain," Ryan added, "She had the ok to bring Khazahdum back…"

"Well this is great!" Chad shouted, earning stares of disbelief from everyone, even Troy who had finally pulled his attention away from Sharpay to stare at him also. "I mean, all we have to do now is get Shar back to full strength."

"Can we?" Troy asked, speaking fo the first time in a while, "Get her back to full strength again?"

Ryan sighed, "I don't know…"

"But we'll definitely try," Henry said before orbing out with Patty. They had a lot of news to tell the family and a lot of work to do before anything really bad happened.

A/N – Yay! They figured it out…I wonder if Sharpay ever will get up to full strength and what her family will do to help her…hmmm…


	21. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

It was the last night of the play…everything had been a success! The cast was definitely on their game as was the crew. Everything worked flawlessly, perfectly in sync and in tune. They'd gotten a standing ovation and two begs for encores.

Overall, the night had been a success…but the amount of joy that the school felt from the perfect performance couldn't even tempt five particular students out of their depression. Troy, Chad, Taylor, Ryan, and Sharpay walked quietly outside the school, heading towards the Evans' again. They'd been on edge the whole time, ever since Khazahdum returned. Gabriella was still at the school, walking around like she was a god on earth or something. She probably felt that way anyway, she'd managed to bring back a demon from the dead in such a way that only Ryan and Sharpay could vanquish it if Sharpay was at full strength. Of course she'd feel that way.

But yet, Ryan had hope, hope that his family would come up with a way to help Sharpay. His family had done some pretty miraculous things in the past. There was no doubt in his mind that they'd come up with something. Sharpay on the other hand…she wasn't too sure…she'd lived with her cursed weakness for years now with no hint that there was any way possible to heal her. She doubted that it would happen now. Sure, her family hadn't really been focused on healing her for the last few years, and now they were a hundred times more motivated this time, but still...it was a long shot.

They'd only walked a few blocks from the school, just turning onto a dark empty street, when suddenly it was filled with light as a hundred orbs of blue and white light swirled around them. A second later, Henry, Bri, and Chris appeared.

"Shar!" Bri shouted, running to her side and grabbing her hands, jumping up and down while Sharpay just stared at her.

"We did it!" Henry added, bopping up and down since it as 'unmanly' to jump like Bri was.

"What?" she asked, shaking her head in wonder.

"We figured it out," Chris answered walking over to the group, "Come on," he said, putting his arms around Taylor and Chad and orbing away. Henry ran to Troy's side and orbed while Bri handled Sharpay and Ryan.

IOI

They all reappeared in the attic of the infamous Halliwell Manor, into the company of Sharpay and Ryan's awaiting cousins and aunts.

"What happened?" she asked once they were fully formed again. Chris and Henry went to rejoin the family while Bri led Troy, Chad, and Taylor off to the side.

"We figured out a way to get your powers back!" Penny shouted, her and Charlotte jumping up and down, as excited as Bri was.

Sharpay went pale, "What?" she asked shakily, nearly falling over had Ryan not been standing near her, holding her up.

"We figured it out Shar," Wyatt said, grinning the widest grin he ever had.

"It was so simple too," Prue added, smiling as well.

"We just wrote a spell," Mel said, running over to Sharpay and leading her to the middle of the room where they had drawn a large star on the floor, "Now…first…give me your hand."

She held out her hand for Mel to take, ignoring the gasps of fear from the gang as Mel pulled out a large knife and pressed it to her finger. She flinched slightly as the athame broke skin, flinching even more as Mel squeezed a few drops of her blood into the brass bowl that the sisters had used in their time for their strongest potions.

"There," Mel said, before pushing Sharpay back to the middle of the star, "Ok…just stand there and don't move at all."

With that, she walked back to her brothers, each of whom stood around the brass bowl as well, each pricking their fingers, muttering chants of strength and protection as they dripped some of their blood into the bowl. Once they had all done so, they each took a place, standing on a part of the circle surrounding the star.

Ryan was the last to take his place since the Charmed Ones were explaining what was going to happen to him as he too donated his blood to Sharpay's ritual. The Charmed Ones followed suit, her Aunt Piper, Phoebe, and Paige, even her mother was there, giving their blood to heal her. She could only hope it worked.

Each of the Charmed Ones stood outside the circle of their children, holding their arms out towards their sisters, standing at the four corners, North, South, East, and West.

Sharpay looked around the circle, at her family, each of whom were looking back at her with gentle smiles. There was hope and confidence shinning in their eyes, they really thought this would work.

Her cousins each reached out, linking hands, trapping her within their circle, yet she wasn't afraid. This was her family, nothing could hurt her while they were around, while they were together.

Wyatt, Chris, and Mel started off the spell, "Powers of the witches rise,"

"Strengthened now by family ties." Prue, Patty, and Penny continued.

Followed by Henry, Bri, and Charlotte, "We ask you now to help us find…"

The voices were blurring, Sharpay could barely understand what was being said…even the room seemed like it was spinning. She could barely hear as Ryan spoke his piece by himself, "A way to heal Sharpay through strength combined."

Now it was the Charmed Ones who spoke, "The magic done we now reverse…"

"Ending forever her weakness cursed!" They all spoke as one…the spell was done…and Sharpay now laid unconscious on the floor…

IOI

"Shar…" a voice whispered, as something wet and cold brushed against her forehead, "Shar…wake up…"

Her eyes fluttered open to see the faces of her entire family, plus Taylor, Chad, and Troy, leaning over her concerned. How had she gotten to the couch? She couldn't remember, but she guessed someone had carried her there. Her head hurt badly from where it had hit the floor when she blacked out…had she blacked out? She couldn't remember…though it would explain why she didn't.

"Shar?" Troy asked, helping her to sit up as she was struggling to do, "You ok?"

"Yeah, Shar," Ryan asked, helping her as well, "How do you feel?"

"I…I'm fine…" she said, her voice hoarse for some reason.

"You sure?" Mel asked.

"I'm sure," she said, rubbing her head.

"You positive?" came from Henry.

"I'm positive, don't worry," she said, waving her hand before her, meaning to wave off the question…everyone was absolutely sure she didn't mean to send Chris flying through the air and into the wall.

Everything was still for a minute…everyone looking straight at Sharpay. Their expressions varied from wonder, to awe, to laughter, to happieness…

"Oh my god Chris!" Sharpay shouted, pushing herself off the couch and running to Chris' side and helping him up, "I'm soooo sorry…I…"

She didn't get another chance to apologize as Chris pulled her into a bear hug, "It worked!" he whispered, holding her close as the rest of the family joined them in the group hug.

Sharpay suddenly reappeared by the couch in a flurry of orbs, "Well…" she said, gaining their attention, "What are we waiting for? We've got a demon to vanquish!"

A/N – Sharpay's healed! Yay!! There's probably only two more chapters left though…I wonder how the fight will go…lol, hey that rhymed!


	22. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

They were all there, all of them. Her entire family stood before her in the living room. Everyone, Aunt Billie, Uncle Darryl, their families, Maya and B as well. Everyone that mattered in her life were there. Chad and Taylor who had become her best friends, and Troy, who had quickly become something more than just a boyfriend to her…they were there too. Everyone stood around her and Ryan offering all their support and love, all the advice and information they could muster to help them out was freely given to them. Never before in her life had she ever been as thankful for her wonderful family as right then.

"Remember," Wyatt said to her as she handed her the vials of the potion the Charmed Ones had created to vanquish Khazahdum, "Even if the potion breaks, use your powers to spash it onto him."

"Yeah," Missy added, handing the spell to Ryan, "Don't freak if the spell catches on fire or something…just make something up, k?" Ryan nodded, "Good luck," she whispered, giving him a small peck on the cheek. He smiled reassuringly at her before turning to take the vial that Penny handed to him. "And just incase he cast a no orbing spell and you can't get out, this potion will transport you both back to the manor."

"And don't forget," Bri said as she and Charlotte placed the protective crystals into a bag Sharpay wore across her body, "Just get the crystals around him and it'll buy you some time."

"You won't be able to get to Khaz till Gabriella's out of the way," Chris said as well, giving another vial to Ryan after he'd put the first one in his pocket, "So make sure you get to her first."

"Got it," he said.

Prue moved over to Sharpay, whispering something in her ear and handing her another vial as well. Sharpay nodded her thanks and stepped over to Ryan.

She took a deep breath, looking around the room and over to Troy. He gave her a shakey smile, he was worried about her, she knew. They'd talked before about what she was about to do. He didn't want her to go, of course, but she had to. It was her job and her legacy, to vanquish demons, she couldn't escape it and he'd finally accepted it. He was more terrified of what was to come than he let on, but he was trying to be brave, give what little human strength he could to her. And for that she was immensly grateful, she didn't know what she'd do if Troy couldn't handle it…probably regret the fact that he found out and push herself farther away from people.

Thinking about it now…she realized her mistake. Pushing people away wasn't the right thing to do at all, no, it just left her with a bigger hole in her heart than before. She saw now that it was a hole that would always be there, it wasn't one that would just disappear with time…it would only get worse. She was glad she let Troy in, he filled the hole and so much more, he made her feel whole.

"You ready?" Ryan asked, taking her hand in his. She nodded, and they both disappeared in a shower of orbs.

IOI

They reappeared in the dark, dank, caves of the underworld, the glow of torches lining the walls creating an eerie series of shadows all around them. They looked at each other, nodding slightly before making their way down the passage before them. They were careful not to make a sound as they crept along the walls, keeping to the shadows, so that no rogue demons would hear them. They'd just walked into a slightly larger cavern, connected to what they assumed to be Khazahdum's lair, when Ryan suddenly pulled her back behind a pillar, being sure to cover Sharpay's mouth as he did so. It was a good thing he did, Sharpay let out a muffled squeak just as what seemed to be an army of demons walked out of the lair, led by none other than Gabriella.

Gabriella…woah…they'd both peeked out and couldn't believe what they saw. The Gabriella that stood before the demons was nothing like the Gabriella she pretended to be in school. Well, of course not, she was a demon! She stood there in a tight, leather miniskirt with high black stillettos, and a top that was way too small and way too tight. This was completely unlike her knee length skirt, Mary Jane character shoes, and blouses.

It really was a good thing that Ryan had sensed them coming. He turned to Sharpay motioning for her to go one way, while he went the other. If they split up and one of them appeared first, then they could draw her attention away from the other so that the potion could be thrown. She read his mind perfectly and nodded before crouching down and making her way along a small wall that connected the pillar Ryan stood behind and a pillar that was closer to the lair's entrance.

Once Sharpay stood again, leaning against the other pillar, they returned their attention back to Gabriella. She eyed the demons with disgust, "You know what to do," she said, waving a hand out before her, shimmering them out and to whatever destination they were ordered to. Gabriella scoffed, "Idiots…" She started to walk out of the room, back towards the lair, Ryan moving around the pillar so that he was behind her.

Just as he was about to jump out from behind his pillar to throw the potion Sharpay saw a demon shimmer in by the passage they had come from…right behind Ryan…with an energy ball springing to life in his hand. Sharpay's eyes widened as she ran out from behind her pillar towards the demon and threw her potion. She nailed him.

Gabriella turned in time to see the potion hit him and have him burst into flames, "No!!" she shouted, staring in horror for only a moment…but in that moment, Sharpay realized why that particular demon seemed so familiar to her. It was the same man she had seen above Gabriella's head when she cast the soulmate spell…this could not end well…

Gabriella rounded on Sharpay, who was now out in open view, raising her hand to blast the hell out of her. She hit the wall behind her with such force the wind was knocked out of her…and it didn't help that Gabriella was using her powers to choke the life from her as she dangled a few feet in the air. Unfortunately, her focus wasn't entirely on Sharpay as she saw Ryan jump out from his spot and throw his own potion at her. She turned around and threw her hand out, blasting Ryan away and into a wall, the potion vial shattering, the potion landing on the rock solid bottom of the cave.

She turned around, eyeing Sharpay who was now on the ground, coughing and gasping for some much needed air. She raised her hand to finish her job of strangling her when Sharpay threw out her hand. She paused for a moment before realizing that whatever Sharpay had tried to do, had failed. She smirked, raising her hand again…when suddenly she felt something sting her leg. She looked down to see the previously fallen potion coating her leg. She looked at Sharpay who was now smirking at her, then back at her leg before letting out an ear peircing scream as she too burst into flames.

Ryan got up off the ground and ran over to Sharpay, reaching out a hand to help her up. "You ok?" he asked, as she reached out to heal his minor wounds.

She nodded, before looking up at him, "You ready?" she asked as he took her hand. He nodded as they turned to face the lair, taking a deep breath before walking in…

IOI

His leg bopped up and down, a nervous habit of his. He didn't know how much longer he could take this. "Hey honey," a voice said as he felt the couch sink slightly beside him. He looked up to see Mrs. Evans sitting down, "You ok?"

He nodded, "Yeah…I'm fine…"

"No, you're not Troy," she said gently, rubbing circles on his back like any parent would do when their child is upset. "I know that look," she said, as he looked up to see her staring intently at him, "I've seen it more times than I can count." She laughed slightly, trying to get a smile or something out of him…it didn't work.

There was silence for a moment or two, Prue still rubbing his back, "How do you stand it?" he asked suddenly.

"Stand what?"

"Stand this," he said, "Stand sitting here, not knowing what's going on down there, not knowing if they're ok…knowing there's nothing you can do to help…how do you do it?"

Prue shook her head, "Years of practice," she said quietly, "We've all been in this position many times before. There are some things that my sisters and I can help our children with…and some things we can't. Just like there are some things you just need to do for yourself without anyone else's help. Believe me, it kills me to just sit here and do nothing to protect them…but…I have to trust that they can protect each other, and…I know they can. I know they're ready for this…we've trained them well," she smiled at the last part. Her children and her neices and nephews would have something she and her sisters never had, someone to teach them how to do things right, to learn from the mistakes they themselves had made.

Troy sighed, "I guess you're right…"

"I know I am," she said, "Just ask my sisters, I always am."

She laughed at some unknown joke and Troy almost joined in himself till…

"Oh no…" he heard someone mutter before another shout filled the air, "Everybody down!"

He hit the floor just as an energy ball flew over his head…

IOI

The lair was quiet, really dark as well, the only light seemed to come from a hole in the ceiling in the dead center of the room. There, with his back to the entrance stood Khazahdum in all his demonic glory. Sharpay nearly gasped with fright as she quietly made her way towards the demon, two of the four magic crystals in her hands. She prayed to all the ancestors of the Halliwell line that he wouldn't turn around till she had done her task. She'd gone in first, of all the charmed children, he would not be expecting her.

"I know you're there Sharpay," a deep grumbling said as the demon slowly turned to see a frightened Sharpay standing before him. She was terrified not just because this was the demon that had tramatized her for years, but because of his overall appearance. He stood before her, practically a skeleton with grey skin, red eyes, and yellow veins. His white hair was long and fell to his shoulders, his black robe was the same way she remembered it, bright red splotches of dried blood seeming to glow against it.

She gasped…not from fear, but from the air now leaving her lungs. Khazahdum had his fist clenched before him, choking her with his powers. She fell to her knees, gasping and struggling for breath as he walked slowly towards her. She had dropped the crystals as she fell, her arms reaching up to grab at her neck, trying for some way to pull the magical hands that were choking her from her neck. He walked closer to her, a sadistic grin on his face as he glowered down at her, "You always were the weakest of the Charmed line," he said, mock sadness in his voice, "Your family must be so disappointed."

She gasped, trying to say something that just couldn't come out, "Tsk, tsk," he said, shaking his head at her, "Do not strain yourself child…it will be over in a minute…"

Suddenly she stopped squirming as a smirk replaced her grimace, "It will," was all she said before she dissappeared before his eyes.

He turned in his spot to see Ryan and Sharpay standing behind him, each holding a crystal in their hands which they immediately dropped, connecting with the two that had been dropped before and locking him in a glowing white cage of magic.

Sharpay thanked the powers that be that her powers had returned to full strength. With each generation of Charmed Ones, their magic advanced and evolved. While her mother had been able to Astral Project, as had her father, her legacy as a Charmed Child allowed more control of that particular skill. Just before they had orbed down, she'd tested all her powers and discovered that she was able to make her Astral Projections more solid, to the point where it could actually hold things in it's hand…which allowed them to get two crystals in and in position before he even knew what was happening.

Khazahdum screamed in fury as he went to kick out the crystal closest to him, but Ryan was faster, he held out his arm, freezing the demon in place. It wouldn't last long however, but they knew this. Sharpay had already thrown the potion as he started breaking through the ice.

Ryan held out the spell as Sharpay joined him at his side, both reading in perfect unision, "We call upon the Halliwell line, come to us through space and time. Come to us in our time of need, Vanquish this demon…permanently…"

He let out such a scream that the twins fell to their knees, covering their ears as tightly as they could hoping to drown out the god forsaken noise. Light shot through the demon, breaking him apart until all the pieces shot out with a bang! A magical force rippled through the lair, sending them both flying against the walls and sinking to the ground…their worlds going black…

A/N – Oh no! What will happen? Don't worry, you'll find out soon lol. The next chapter tells all…the next chatper ends all as well…


	23. Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty-One

"…shar…" a voice whispered in the darkness, "…Shar wake up." She groaned, why? Why should she wake up, she was tired. "Sharpay." Go away…she'd just helped defeat a horrifying demon, couldn't they let her sleep? "Wake up!" Obviously not.

She groaned, rolling over…and off the couch. She sat bolt upright, hearing roars of laughter all around her. She opened her eyes to see that she was now sitting on the floor of the Manor's living room, her family surrounding her, Ryan lounging across from her on a chair, Missy sitting on the arm next to him. She looked to her side to see Troy kneeling beside her for only a split moment before he enveloped her in a hug.

She sighed, breathing him in as she returned the hug, "I'm so glad you're ok," he whispered in her ear. She smiled before whispering back, "Me too…"

They pulled away, both a little embarrassed by the fact that the entire family had been watching them. They just chuckled a little as Troy helped Sharpay sit back on the couch. "What happened?" Sharpay asked, looking around that the semi-destroyed living room.

Piper let out a strained laugh, "Funny you should ask that…" she said, "…it seems like your little friend Gabriella decided to send some of her more demonic friends for a little visit."

Sharpay almost laughed at that, "Is everyone ok?" she asked looking around at everyone, they seemed so.

"Yup," Wyatt said, getting nods of agreement, "We took care of them, no problems."

"It turns out that Gabriella didn't think we'd get your strength up," Ryan added, "She wanted to send demons here, so that we'd come and Khazahdum could finish you off himself."

Sharpay smiled, "Bet she wasn't expecting us to go down there ourselves."

"What happened down there?" Taylor asked, "Just after the demons were vanquished, you both orbed in but you were out cold."

Ryan shrugged, "I guess when we hit the wall the vial broke and we were sent back."

Sharpay nodded, sounded like something that could happen.

"So what happened with Gabriella?" Chad asked, "She going to give you guys any more problems?"

Sharpay sighed, looking at Ryan who simply nodded, they had a right to know what happened. They took a breath before launching into their story about what happened…

IOI

"So…she's gone?" Troy asked, "For good?"

They nodded, "The potion and the spell worked perfectly," Ryan said.

"And thanks for the other potion Prue," Sharpay said, reaching behind her to squeeze her cousin's hand in thanks. Prue had seen the other demon shimmer in and take out Ryan in her vision. She'd gotten right to work making a vanquishing potion for Sharpay to use to tweak the future just a tad.

All in all, it had been a very, very successful night. The play was a success, she was back at full strength, and Khazahdum and Gabriella would never harm anyone ever again. As Sharpay sat there, surrounded by her family, in Troy's arms, she knew, she just knew, things would only get better.

IOI

"Patrick Victor Halliwell!" a blonde woman shouted as she watched two small children play in the park, "You give your sister back her doll!"

"Aw…mom!" the small blond boy whined, "Do I have to?"

"You know it's not nice to take things," a tall brunette man said, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulder, "Listen to your mother…or would you rather she set the Woggie Man on you?"

"No!" the boy shouted, "Not him! I'm sorry Pam," he said, quickly handing the small brown haired girl next to him her doll back…which she promptly used to smack him with.

"Pamela Lisa!" the man shouted this time, "Play nice!"

"Yes," the woman agreed, "Don't think I won't set the Woggie Man on you either."

"Sorry mommy," she said, sitting back down next to her brother and resuming their game of Demon and Innocent.

The woman sighed as she leaned into her husband's shoulder. "They take some looking after don't they?" her husband said, watching the twins play in the sand.

"Don't remind me," she groaned burying her face in his shoulder, "And they're starting to come into their powers too."

"Really?" he asked, she nodded. He sighed, reaching out to place his hand on her slightly swollen stomach, "I hope this one doesn't give us too much trouble."

"Mhmm," she murmured, "Me too."

There was silence for a minute as the couple took in the park. It was a beautiful, sunny day in San Francisco, and the children really enjoyed playing together. They got along so well, like most of the family did, so it didn't really surprise the proud parents.

"I love you Shar," he whispered, hugging her closer to him.

She smiled, "I love you too Troy," she replied, leaning in for one magical kiss…but then again, when you were a part of the Charmed Ones' legacy…everything was magical.

A/N – I'm so sad…it's over…it's all over! I think I may cry…But I can't…if the tears blur my vision, how will I be able to see what I'm typing in order to finish the other stories? I also want to start some new ones…just saw Prince Caspian, amazing! Totally inspired to write another Narnia fic now…but that will have to wait, stick around, I'll be updating!


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